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AMONG  THE 
CANADIAN   ALPS 

BY 
LAWRENCE  «J.  BURPEE 

F.R.(|^S. 

o 
o 

WITH    FOUR  ILLUSTR^YrOriS    IN    (.....■  .. 

FORTY-FIVE    RK  PR  tfl)  OCTIOItS    FROM 

PHOTOGRAPHS  ;^§  FIVE  MAPS 


< 


NEW    YORK:     JOHN     LANK         >vi  ^vy 
LONDON:    JOHN  LANE.  THE  l-  D 

TORONTO:     BELL   k   COCKBURN  ::  MDMXIV 


3u; 


AMONG  THE 
CANADIAN  ALPS 

BY 

LAWRENCE  J.  BURPEE 

F.R.G.S. 


WITH    FOUR-ILLUSTRATIONS    IN    COLOUR 

FORTY-FIVE    REPRODUCTIONS    FROM 

PHOTOGRAPHS  AND  FIVE  MAPS 


i»  •    J.*      '^  » j«     •       •'»   J     J  ;*'  i',  j»,  •, .  •     , 


NEW  YORK:  JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 
LONDON:  JOHN  LANE.  THE  BODLEY  HEAD 
TORONTO:     BELL   &    COCKBURN  ::  MCMXIV 


30728 


COPYRIGHT,  1914 
Sy  JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 


:-r/: 


6ii64 


THB>rLIMPTON*PKKSa 
NORWOOD' MASS*0'S-A 


\03  0 

333 


PREFACE 

The  writer  takes  this  opportunity  of  gratefully 
acknowledging  his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  J.  B. 
Harkiny  Commissioner  oj  Dominion  Parks, 
Col.  Maynard  Rogers,  Superintendent  of 
Jasper  Park,  and  Mr.  Arthur  0.  Wheeler, 
Director  of  the  Alpine  Club  of  Canada,  for 
valued  assistance  in  gathering  material  for 
this  book;  to  Mr.  Walter  D.  Wilcox,  Sir 
James  Outram,  Dr.  A.  P.  Coleman,  Dr.  J, 
W.  A.  Hickson,  Rev.  George  Kinney,  Dr. 
Charles  E.  Fay  and  Mr.  P.  D.  McTavish, 
for  permission  to  quote  from  their  books  and 
articles  on  the  Rocky  Mountains;  and  to 
Miss  Mary  M.  Vaux,  Mrs.  Mary  T.  S.  Schdf- 
fer,  Mr.  W.  H.  P.  Lett,  Mr.  Arthur  0.  Wheeler, 
Mr.  H.  W.  Craver,  Rev.  George  Kinney,  Mr. 
P.  D.  McTavish,  Mr.  James  F.  Porter y  Mr. 
P.  L.  Tait,  Mr.  John  Woodruff,  Mr.  A. 
Knechtel,  Messrs.  G.  and  W.  Fear,  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  Company  and  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  Railway  Company,  for  per- 
mission to  reproduce  photographs  of  Rocky 
Mountain  scenery  and  climbing  and  other 
incidents. 

Ottawa,  Canada 
October,  1914 


CONTENTS 

I  PAGE 

The  Lure  of  the  Mountains 11 

n 

The  National  Parks  of  Canada 29 

III 

In  and  Aboitt  Banff 49 

IV 

The  Canadian  Matterhom 65 

V 

Incomparable  Lake  Louise 81 

VI 

The  Valley  of  the  Yoho 93 

vn 

Around  the  Illecillewaet      107 

VIII 

The  Caves  of  Nakimu 125 


CONTENTS 

IX 

Mountain  Climbing  and  Climbers 135 

X 

Climbing  in  the  Selkirks 153 

XI 

Afield  in  Jasper      167 

XII 

Out  of  the  World 179 

xni 

The  Monarch  of  the  Rockies 197 

XIV 

On  the  Moose  River  Trail 211 


Bibliography 227 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Berg  Lake  and  Tumbling  Glacier  (in  colours)  .    .       Frontispiece 

Mount  Temple Facing  page  14 

Vermilion  Lake  and  Mount  Rundle 20 

The  Three  Sisters,  Rocky  Mountains  Park .24 

Mount  Wapta  and  Summit  Lake,  Yoho  Park 24 

Mount    Lefroy    and    Lake    Louise,    after    a  Midsummer 

Snowstorm 32 

Cathedral  Peak,  from  Kicking  Horse  Pass 38 

Moose  Pass,  on  the  Borders  of  Rohson  Park 38 

The  Wall  of  Jericho 44 

Hoodoos  in  the  Valley  of  the  Bow 44 

The  Valley  of  the  Bow 54 

Trail  near  Banff 60 

Mount  Assinihoine,  the  Matterhom  of  the  Rockies    ....  68 

Emperor  Falls  (in  colours) 72 

Mount  Edith 76 

Towers  of  Mount  Babel,  Consolation  Valley 76 

Paradise  Valley,  from  the  Saddleback 84 

Giant  Steps,  Head  of  Paradise  Valley 84 

Lake  Louise 86 

Moraine  Lake 90 

Takakkaw  Falls,  Yoho  Valley 96 

Lake  O'Hara,  Yoho  Park 100 

Twin  Falls,  Yoho  Valley •,   •    •    •  ^^ 

Mount  Sir  Donald  and  Illecillewaet  Glacier 112 

A  Bit  of  the  Illecillewaet ' 112 

The  High  Frontier  of  British  Columbia 120 

On  the  Summit  of  Sir  Donald 120 

The  Weird  Caves  of  Nakimu 128 

The  Assault 138 

Victory  at  Last 138 

The  Monarch  of  the  Rockies  (in  colours) 144 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Snow  Mushrooms 150 

Icicles  on  Mount  Rohson,  50  feet  long 150 

Climbing  Mount  Resplendant 158 

Summit  of  Mount  Resplendant,  11,173  feet  above  the  Sea    .  158 

Climbing  Among  the  Seracs 164 

Jasper  Lake 170 

Fiddle  Creek  Canyon 176 

Jack  Lake 184 

Maligne  Lake 184 

Breaking  Camp  in  the  Mountains 190 

Making  a  Trail  through  Fallen  Timber 190 

The  Purple  Crags  of  Roche  Miette  (in  colours) 200 

Mount  Robson,  from  the  Grand  Fork 204 

Emperor  Falls 208 

Mount  Robson,  from  the  Northeast 214 

Moose  River  Falls 218 

Svnmming  the  Athabaska 224 

Making  Camp 224 


MAPS 

Rocky  Mountains  Park,  Banff  Section 235 

Rocky  Mountains  Park,  Lake  Louise  Section 236 

Yoho  Park 237 

Jasper  Park 238 

Glacier  Park 239 

Robson  Park 239 


I 

THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

WHAT  is  the  peculiar  charm  of  that 
mighty,  snow-capped  sea  of 
mountains,  whose  stupendous 
waves  tossed  far  into  the  heavens  seem  ever  about 
to  overwhehn  the  level  wheat-fields  of  Western 
Canada?  The  lure  of  the  mountains  defies 
analysis,  but  it  is  surely  there  with  its  irresistible 
appeal  to  all  in  whom  the  spirit  of  romance  is 
not  quite  dead.  It  stirs  the  blood  strangely 
when,  far  out  on  the  plains  of  Alberta,  you  get 
your  first  glimpse  of  the  Canadian  Alps — a  line 
of  white,  glittering  peaks  just  above  the  horizon, 
infinitely  remote  and  ethereal,  something  alto- 
gether apart  from  the  prosaic  world  about  you 
of  grain  and  cattle,  neat  farm-house  and  un- 
sightly elevator. 

As  you  follow  the  course  of  the  sun,  the  peaks 
loom  gradually  up  into  the  sky  and  dominate  the 
scene,  but  still  retain  the  atmosphere  of  another 
world.  The  rolling  foothills  in  the  foreground, 
like  spent  waves  from  the  storm-tossed  sea,  seem 

[13] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

tangible  and  comprehensible,  but  beyond  and 
above  the  dark  ramparts  of  the  outer  range,  the 
towering  outer  wave  of  the  mountains,  float  sil- 
very outlines  that  seem  to  be  the  fabric  of  some 
other  and  purer  world.  Doubt  may  come  with 
the  marvellously  clear  and  hardening  Hght  of  the 
western  day,  but  at  sunrise,  and  pecuHarly  at 
sunset,  the  last  shreds  of  uncertainty  are  swept 
away.  Not  of  this  earth  is  that  dream  of  fairy- 
land poised  mysteriously  in  the  upper  air,  glow- 
ing in  exquisite  tints,  soft  as  a  summer  cloud;  a 
realm  of  the  spirit  to  which  one  might  hope  to 
journey  over  the  path  of  a  rainbow. 

One  who  has  seen  this  vision  may  not  resist 
the  insistent  call  to  explore  the  mountain  world, 
to  discover  what  Hes  beyond  the  frowning  battle- 
ments that  guard  this  other  realm.  The  call  has 
been  working  in  the  hearts  of  men  for  genera- 
tions. They  came  alone  in  the  early  days,  each 
man  fighting  his  way  up  through  some  doorway 
that  led  into  the  heart  of  the  GHttering  Moun- 
tains. Only  the  stout  of  heart  might  then  win 
through,  for  this  Wonderland  was  guarded  close 
on  every  side.  Pitfalls  awaited  the  unwary. 
The  explorer  must  cut  his  own  trail  through  the 
wilderness,  cross  icy  torrents,  climb  alpine  passes, 
find  a  way  through  networks  of  fallen  timber, 

[14] 


-d 


4 

-t . 

WM 

■'  3*;" 

JH 

Y' 

■qjl.. 

m 

THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

face  perils  and  discomforts  every  hour  of  the  day. 
And  yet  there  was  something  alluring,  some- 
thing that  drew  him  on,  and  brought  him  back 
again  to  these  high  fastnesses ;  something  that  he 
could  not  understand,  but  that  was  none  the  less 
imperative.  That  same  spell  is  as  potent  to-day, 
but  most  of  the  barriers  are  down,  and  where 
once  men  came  singly  or  in  twos  and  threes,  pay- 
ing heavily  in  labour  and  peril  for  the  joys  they 
found  in  the  mountains,  thousands  now  follow 
at  just  enough  cost  to  themselves  to  give  spice 
to  the  experience. 

The  history  of  the  Canadian  Alps,  so  far  as 
White  Men  have  had  anything  to  do  with  it, 
dates  back  to  the  closing  years  of  the  French 
Regime  in  Canada.  It  is  characteristic  of  the 
race  that  gave  to  the  world  such  heroic  figures 
as  those  of  Champlain  and  La  Salle  and  La 
Verendrye,  that  while  the  infamous  Bigot  and 
the  egotistical  and  brainless  Vaudreuil  were 
gambling  away  an  empire  in  the  New  World, 
tireless  and  unselfish  explorers  were  carrying  the 
boundaries  of  that  empire  far  out  toward  the  set- 
ting sun. 

It  was  in  the  year  1751  that  the  Chevalier  de 
Niverville,  with  a  small  party  of  French 
voyageurs,  pushed  his*  way  up  the  muddy  waters 

[15] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

of  the  Saskatchewan,  and  built  Fort  Lajonquiere 
in  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Niver- 
ville  was  not  the  discoverer  of  the  mighty  range 
thai;  runs  like  a  backbone  throughout  the  length 
of  North  America.  He  had  been  anticipated 
some  years  before  by  a  fellow-countryman,  La 
Verendrye,  son  of  the  patriotic  explorer  who  had 
devoted  his  life  to  western  discovery  for  the  glory 
of  his  native  land.  Niverville,  however,  was  the 
first  White  Man  to  look  upon  that  portion  of 
the  mountains  now  known  as  the  Canadian  Rock- 
ies. 

One  wonders  what  his  impressions  were  as  he 
gazed  out  to  the  westward  over  that  bewilder- 
ing scene.  As  a  Canadian  officer  he  had  served 
in  the  expeditions  against  the  New  England 
Colonies,  and  was  therefore  familiar  with  the 
mountains  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  as 
well  as  with  his  own  Laurentian  Hills,  but  what 
preparation  were  these  for  such  awe-inspiring 
majesty?  Range  piled  upon  range  to  the  west- 
ward, soaring  up  and  up  in  vast  towers  and 
domes  and  spires,  and  extending  north  and  south 
to  the  utmost  limits  of  vision,  they  must  have 
seemed  to  Niverville  an  impregnable  fortifica- 
tion designed  to  bar  all  further  progress  in  this 
direction. 

[16] 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

Niverville  was  not  the  man,  however,  to  be 
daunted  by  even  the  most  f onaidable  natural  ob- 
stacle, and  he  was  not  without  evidence  that  a 
way  might  be  found  through  the  mountains  to 
the  shores  of  that  Western  Sea  for  which  he  and 
many  other  Canadian  explorers  had  been  search- 
ing, even  since  the  days  of  Champlain.  While 
at  Fort  Lajonquiere  a  party  of  Indians  visited 
him,  from  whom  he  learned  that  they  had  traded 
with  a  strange  tribe  whose  home  was  far  to  the 
westward,  beyond  the  great  barrier,  and  who 
spoke  of  White  Men  that  they  had  seen  on  the 
sea  coast.  NiverviUe  no  doubt  made  plans  for 
an  expedition  through  the  mountains,  but  they 
came  to  nothing.  His  leader,  Saint-Pierre,  was 
having  trouble  with  the  Indians  at  his  fort  on  the 
Assiniboine;  Niverville  was  recalled,  and  before 
long  the  entire  party  of  French  explorers  were 
making  their  way  back  to  far-off  Quebec,  to  help 
Montcalm  in  his  last  desperate  effort  to  save 
New  France. 

In  1754,  and  again  in  1772,  officers  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  made  journeys  of  ex- 
ploration from  York  Factory,  on  the  west- 
ern shores  of  Hudson  Bay,  to  the  country  of  the 
Blackfoot  Indians,  among  the  foothills  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains ;  but  it  was  not  until  1793  that 

[17] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

any  White  Man  was  daring  enough  to  penetrate 
their  fastnesses.  In  that  year  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie, who  had  four  years  earlier  descended  the 
river  that  bears  his  name,  to  the  shores  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  forced  his  way  through  the  Peace 
River  Pass,  and  after  suffering  great  hardships, 
stood  at  last  beside  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  ful- 
filling at  last  the  dream  of  French  explorers  of 
an  overland  route  to  the  Western  Sea. 

Within  the  next  few  years  discoveries  fol- 
lowed thick  and  fast.  The  North  West  Com- 
pany, the  Canadian  rival  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  the  western  fur  trade,  was  reaching 
out  eagerly  for  new  fields  to  conquer,  and  the 
more  adventurous  of  its  officers,  scouting  far 
ahead  of  the  main  army,  became  more  explorers 
than  fur-traders.  Mackenzie  was  himself  a 
partner  of  the  North  West  Company,  and  where 
he  led  others  soon  followed,  breaking  new  trails 
through  the  mountains,  leaving  the  level  plains 
and  comparatively  sparse  vegetation  of  the  east- 
em  side,  and  coming  down  into  the  almost  tropi- 
cal luxuriance  of  the  Pacific  slope. 

David  Thompson,  the  astronomer  of  the  North 
West  Company,  was  the  first  to  find  a  way 
through  the  mountains  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Kicking  Horse  Pass  route,  or  the  main  line 

[18] 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  In  1800  he 
made  his  way  over  to  the  Columbia  Valley,  per- 
haps by  what  was  later  known  as  the  Simpson 
Pass;  and  the  same  year  Dmican  McGillivray 
found  a  route  farther  north  by  Howse  Pass, 
named  after  Jasper  Howse,  another  Rocky 
Mountain  explorer.  Simon  Eraser,  who  had 
followed  Mackenzie  through  the  Peace  Pass,  in 
1808  explored  the  river  that  bears  his  name  from 
the  mountains  to  the  sea,  descending  its  terrific 
canyons  in  a  frail  canoe. 

At  the  very  time  that  Eraser  was  making  his 
way  down  this  river,  Thompson  was  exploring 
the  Kootenay  and  the  Columbia.  Two  years 
afterward  the  latter  discovered  the  Athabaska 
Pass,  which  for  many  years  was  to  remain  the 
principal  highway  of  the  fur-traders  back  and 
forth  through  the  mountains.  Often  enough  the 
mountains  above  the  pass  must  have  looked  down 
upon  the  picturesque  cavalcade  of  traders,  carry- 
ing goods  over  to  the  posts  in  New  Caledonia  or 
down  the  Columbia,  or  bringing  back  the  "re- 
turns" as  the  cargoes  of  furs  were  called.  One 
can  picture  the  long  string  of  pack-horses  climb- 
ing up  the  pass,  with  the  cheerful  philosophy  (or 
diabolical  cunning)  of  the  Indian  cayuse,  urged 
forward  by  fluent  traders.     One  can  see,  too,  at 

[19] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

nightfall,  the  camp-fires  in  the  mountains ;  horses, 
browsing  contentedly ;  men  lounging  about  wait- 
ing for  their  supper,  perhaps  fresh  venison,  or  the 
old  stand-by  pemmican ;  and  later,  pipe  and  story 
and  song — the  beautiful  old  chansons  of  French 
Canada  with  their  haunting  refrains: 

A  la  claire  fontaine 

M'en  allant  promener, 
J'ai  trouve  I'eau  si  belle 
Que  je  m'y  suis  baigne. 

I'  ya  longtemps  que  je  t'aime. 
Jamais  je  ne  t'oublierai. 

or — 

Derrier'  chez  nous,  ya-t-un  etang. 
En  roulant  ma  boule. 
Trois  beaux  canards  s'en  vont  baignant, 
En  roulant  ma  boule. 

Rouli,  roulant,  ma  boule  roulant , 
En  roulant  ma  boule  roulant. 
En  roulant  ma  boule. 

After  this  initial  age  of  exploration,  most  of 
the  credit  of  which  belongs  to  the  men  of  the 
North  West  Company,  we  come  to  a  period  of 
travel.  Some  of  the  rarest  and  at  the  same  time 
most  interesting  books  of  travel  in  Northwestern 
America  are  those  which  describe  overland  jour- 
neys to  and  from  the  Pacific  by  way  of  one  or 
other  of  the  famous  gateways  through  the  Ca- 
nadian Rockies.     Such  a  book  is  Gabriel  Fran- 

[20] 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

chere's  narrative  including  an  account  of  his  trip 
through  the  mountains  in  1814;  another  is  that 
of  Ross  Cox,  who  with  Franchere  was  concerned 
in  the  dramatic  events  connected  with  the  history 
of  Astoria,  of  which  Washington  Irving  wrote 
such  an  entertaining  and  thoroughly  unreliable 
account.  Ross  Cox  crossed  the  mountains  three 
years  after  Franchere. 

Another  little-known  narrative  is  that  of  Sir 
George  Simpson's  expedition  of  1825.  Sir 
George  Simpson  was  then  Governor  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  and  like  Jehu  he  drove  fu- 
riously. He  travelled  in  what  was  known  as  a 
light  canoe,  manned  with  picked  boatmen  famous 
for  speed,  skill  and  endurance;  they  were  off  at 
daylight  or  earlier,  and  did  not  camp  before 
nightfall.  In  his  journeys  across  the  continent, 
by  the  great  water  routes  of  the  fur-trade,  the 
Gk)vernor's  canoe  bore  about  the  same  relation 
to  the  regular  brigades  that  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury Limited  does  to  a  freight  train. 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  of  the  narratives 
of  this  period  is  Paul  Kane's  Wanderings  of  an 
Artist  among  the  Indians  of  North  America. 
Kane  was  a  Toronto  artist,  who  travelled  across 
the  continent  studying  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  various  tribes,  and  making  a  series  of  most 

[21] 


.    AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

delightful  sketches  of  them  and  of  their  country. 
His  comments  on  the  natives  and  their  habits  are 
shrewd  and  entertaining,  and  if  written  to-day 
would  sometimes  be  thought  much  too  frank  for 
publication.  Kane  crossed  the  Athabaska  Pass 
in  1846,  and  returned  the  same  way  the  follow- 
ing year. 

Five  or  six  years  earlier  Sir  George  Simpson 
again  traversed  the  mountains,  by  the  pass  that 
bears  his  name,  in  the  course  of  his  famous  jour- 
ney around  the  world.  The  journeys  of  Father 
De  Smet,  the  western  missionary,  of  the  Earl  of 
Southesk,  of  Milton  and  Cheadle,  and  of  Wil- 
liam Francis  Butler,  to  mention  only  a  few  of 
the  more  prominent,  belong  to  the  same  general 
period. 

Butler  went  through  the  Peace  River  Pass, 
and  at  its  eastern  entrance  climbed  a  steep  hill 
known  as  the  Buffalo's  Head  to  get  his  first  wide 
view  of  the  mountains.  He  tried  to  describe 
what  he  saw,  but  admitted  the  futiHty  of  the  at- 
tempt. 

"Not  more  wooden,"  he  says,  "are  the  ark  ani- 
mals of  our  childhood,  than  the  words  in  which 
man  would  clothe  the  images  of  that  higher  na- 
ture which  the  Almighty  has  graven  into  the 
shapes  of  lonely  mountains  1    Put  down  your 

[22] 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

wooden  woods  bit  by  bit;  throw  in  colour  here,  a 
Httle  shade  there,  touch  it  up  with  sky  and  cloud, 
cast  about  it  that  perfume  of  blossom  or  breeze, 
and  in  Heaven's  name  what  does  it  come  to  after 
all?  Can  the  eye  wander  away,  away,  away  un- 
til it  is  lost  in  blue  distance  as  a  lark  is  lost  in  blue 
heaven,  but  the  sight  still  drinks  the  beauty  of 
the  landscape,  though  the  source  of  the  beauty 
be  unseen,  as  the  source  of  the  music  which  falls 
from  the  azure  depths  of  the  sky. 

"That  river  coming  out  broad  and  glittering 
from  the  dark  mountains,  and  vanishing  into  yon 
profound  chasm  with  a  roar  which  reaches  up 
even  here — ^billowy  seas  of  peaks  and  mountains 
beyond  number  away  there  to  south  and  west — 
that  huge  half  dome  which  lifts  itself  above  all 
others  sharp  and  clear  cut  against  the  older  dome 
of  heaven!  Turn  east,  look  out  into  that  plain — 
that  endless  plain  where  the  pine-trees  are 
dwarfed  to  speargrass  and  the  prairie  to  a  mead- 
ow-patch— ^what  do  you  see?  Nothing,  poor 
blind  reader,  nothing,  for  the  blind  is  leading  the 
blind;  and  all  this  boundless  range  of  river  and 
plain,  ridge  and  prairie,  rocky  precipice  and 
snow-capped  sierra,  is  as  much  above  my  poor 
power  of  words,  as  He  who  built  this  mighty  na- 
ture is  higher  still  than  all." 

[28] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Yet  so  insistent  is  the  charm  of  the  mountains, 
as  he  makes  his  way  ever  deeper  into  their  secret 
recesses,  that  he  must  try  once  more  to  put  his 
impressions  into  words : 

"  Wonderful  things  to  look  at  are  these  white 
peaks,  perched  up  so  high  above  our  world. 
They  belong  to  us,  yet  they  are  not  of  us.  The 
eagle  links  them  to  the  earth;  the  cloud  carries 
to  them  the  message  of  the  sky;  the  ocean  sends 
them  her  tempest;  the  air  rolls  her  thunders  be- 
neath their  brows,  and  launches  her  hghtnings 
from  their  sides;  the  sun  sends  them  his  first 
greeting,  and  leaves  them  his  latest  kiss.  Yet 
motionless  they  keep  their  crowns  of  snow,  their 
glacier  crests  of  jewels,  and  dwell  among  the 
stars  heedless  of  time  or  tempest." 

Up  to  the  year  of  1858  travel  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  was  confined  to  one  or  other  of  the 
passes.  Men  did  not  wander  off  the  beaten  trails, 
but  hurried  through  east  or  west.  Between  1858 
and  1860  the  members  of  the  Palliser  Expedition, 
and  particularly  that  tireless  explorer.  Dr. 
James  Hector,  pushed  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
mountains,  discovering  new  passes,  tracing  rivers 
to  their  sources,  and  for  the  first  time  giving  the 
world  some  idea  of  the  wonderful  region  of 
peaks,  lakes  and  valleys  that  lay  beyond  the  west- 

[24] 


Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 

THE     THREE    SISTERS,     ROCKY     MOUNTAINS    PARK 


Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 

MOUNT    WAPTA    AND    SUMMIT    LAKE 

(  Yoho  Park) 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

em  prairies.  Among  many  other  familiar  place- 
names  in  the  Canadian  Rockies,  that  of  Kicking 
Horse  Pass  was  given  by  Dr.  Hector,  who  on 
his  first  journey  through  the  pass  was  nearly 
killed  by  a  vicious  horse.  It  has  before  now  been 
suggested  that  a  more  appropriate  name  for  this 
important  route  through  the  mountains  would 
be  that  of  the  explorer  himself. 

The  task  so  splendidly  initiated  by  Captain 
Palliser  and  his  associates  of  exploring  and  map- 
ping the  Canadian  Rockies  was  afterward  taken 
up  by  the  officers  of  the  Canadian  Geological 
Survey  and  the  Topographical  Survey  of  Can- 
ada, and  is  still  in  progress. 

One  may  round  out  this  very  brief  survey  of 
the  opening  up  of  the  Canadian  Alps,  the  Won- 
derlands of  the  Canadian  West,  by  mentioning 
some  recent  expeditions  of  a  group  of  explorers 
whose  object  was  rather  recreation  than  science; 
who  saw  in  these  mountains  a  boundless  play- 
ground where  tired  men  and  women  of  the  cities 
might  find  rest  and  pleasure,  where  unclimbed 
peaks  rise  on  every  side  to  tempt  the  more  ener- 
getic and  repay  them  with  marvellous  impres- 
sions of  unforgettable  splendour,  where  snow- 
bound passes  lead  one  over  into  green  val- 
leys holding  in  their  embrace  lakes  of  the  most 

[25] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

exquisite  colouring,  where  the  mountain  goat  and 
the  bighorn  gaze  down  upon  you  from  dizzy 
heights  or  scamper  up  the  face  of  impossible 
precipices,  and  the  silvertip  lumbers  off  the  trail 
with  ponderous  dignity,  where  the  day's  tramp 
brings  endless  variety  of  towering  cliff  and  snowy 
summit,  cathedral  aisles  in  the  primaeval  forest, 
falling  curtains  of  mist  from  gigantic  glaciers, 
chaotic  slopes  of  rock  and  alpine  meadows 
dressed  in  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow,  where 
the  camp-fire  brings  perfect  content  and  a  spirit 
of  comradeship  unknown  in  the  cities,  where  the 
mountain  air  puts  new  life  into  you,  fills  you  with 
wholesome  optimism,  makes  you  realise  as  you 
never  did  before  that  the  world  is  good,  good  to 
look  upon  and  good  to  live  upon. 

One  need  only  mention  the  titles  of  some  of 
the  books  in  which  these  expeditions  are  de- 
scribed to  suggest  the  spirit  that  animates  them: 
Hornaday's  Camp-fires  in  the  Canadian  Rockies, 
Schaffers's  Old  Indian  Trails,  Outram's  In  the 
Heart  of  the  Canadian  Rockies,  Green's  Among 
the  Selkirk  Glaciers.  If  we  add  the  wonder- 
fully-illustrated work  of  Walter  D.  Wilcox,  and 
the  narratives  of  Stutfield  and  Collie,  Coleman, 
Baillie-Grohman,  and  a  few  others,  we  have  a 
little  library  of  Canadian  Alpine  literature  that 

[26] 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS 

will  be  a  revelation  to  any  one  who  has  not  yet 
become  familiar  with  the  irresistible  appeal  of 
this  land  of  pure  delight. 

A  word  remains  to  be  said,  and  it  may  as  well 
be  said  here  as  elsewhere,  as  to  routes — how  to 
get  to  the  Canadian  National  Parks.  From 
Eastern  Canada,  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
probably  the  most  convenient  route  is  the  direct 
transcontinental  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  from  Montreal,  and  by  that  route  un- 
questionably the  most  comfortable  train  is  the 
well-known  "Imperial  Limited."  From  To- 
ronto, or  points  south  of  Toronto  in  the  United 
States,  the  "Pacific  Express"  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  offers  a  direct  route  to  the 
Mountains.  If  your  starting-point  is  in  the  Mid- 
dle West,  it  will  be  well  to  take  the  route  from 
Chicago  to  Winnipeg  and  join  the  "Imperial 
Limited"  there;  or  the  more  direct  line  from  Chi- 
cago to  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  at  Moose  jaw.  All  these  routes  will 
bring  you  to  the  eastern  portal  of  the  mountains 
at  Calgary,  and  on  to  Banff  and  other  points 
in  the  Parks.  If  you  are  bound  for  Jasper  Park 
in  the  north,  any  of  the  three  transcontinental 
railways,  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  Canadian 
Pacific,  or  Canadian  Northern,  will  take  you  di- 

[27] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

rect  from  Winnipeg  to  Edmonton,  and  you  can 
get  in  to  the  Park  by  either  the  Grand  Trmik 
Pacific  or  Canadian  Northern. 

If  your  starting-point  is  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  from  Vancouver 
is  the  direct  route,  or  you  may  join  the  main  line 
from  the  south  at  several  points  east  of  Van- 
couver. By  the  autumn  of  1914  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  will  be  completed  to  its  Pacific 
terminus,  Prince  Rupert,  and  the  Canadian 
Northern  may  also  be  ready  for  traffic  to  Van- 
couver before  the  end  of  the  year.  Round  trips 
will  then  be  possible  taking  in  all  the  Canadian 
Mountain  Parks:  From  Calgary  by  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  to  Rocky  Mountain  Park,  Yoho 
Park  and  Glacier  Park,  and  on  to  Vancouver. 
From  Vancouver  north  by  boat  to  Prince  Ru- 
pert, and  by  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  east  to  Rob- 
son  Park  and  Jasper  Park;  or  possibly  direct 
from  Vancouver  by  Canadian  Northern  to  the 
same  parks.  From  Jasper  Park  the  return  to 
Calgary  would  be  by  Edmonton  and  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway  branch  line. 


[28] 


II 

THE  NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 


II 

THE  NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

THE  last  spike  in  the  first  of  Canada's 
transcontinental  roads,  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  was  driven  at  Craigil- 
lachie,  British  Columbia,  in  1885.  Two  years 
later,  after  a  memorable  debate  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  an  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed 
setting  apart  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the 
people  of  the  young  Dominion  a  national  park 
in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Thus  was 
initiated  a  pohcy  which  has  since  been  developed 
upon  broad  and  generous  lines,  and  which  will 
ultimately  give  Canada  an  unrivalled  system  of 
magnificent  natural  playgrounds. 

The  first  park,  as  created  in  1887,  covered  an 
area  of  260  square  miles,  with  the  Uttle  station  of 
Banff,  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  as 
headquarters.  In  1902  the  area  was  enlarged  to 
5,000  square  miles,  but  reduced  again  in  1911, 
under  the  terms  of  the  Forest  Reserves  and 
Parks  Act,  to  1,800  square  miles.  The  object 
of  the  reduction  was  apparently  to  confine  the 

[31] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

park  to  an  area  that  could  be  efficiently  admin- 
istered with  the  existing  staff.  It  is  understood, 
however,  that  in  view  of  the  extraordinary  popu- 
larity of  this  wonderful  mountain  region,  steps 
will  be  taken  before  long  to  re-establish  the  boun- 
daries of  1902.  The  wisdom  of  such  a  move 
cannot  be  doubted.  The  increased  cost  of  main- 
tenance would  be  comparatively  slight,  and  the 
advantages  would  be  enormous.  It  would  make 
accessible  the  exceedingly  interesting  country 
north  of  the  present  park  boundaries  with  its 
great  alpine  peaks,  snow-fields  and  glaciers,  its 
beautiful  valleys,  lakes,  mountain  streams  and 
waterfalls;  it  would  help  to  preserve  from  de- 
struction by  vandalism  or  sheer  carelessness  many 
of  the  scenic  beauties  of  the  region;  and  would 
give  to  the  wild  animals  of  the  mountains  a  fur- 
ther lease  of  life. 

Since  the  establishment  of  the  first  reserva- 
tion, known  officially  as  Rocky  Mountains  Park, 
and  popularly  as  the  Banff  Park,  several  other 
similar  districts  have  been  set  apart.  Immedi- 
ately west  of  Rocky  Mountains  Park,  but  on  the 
British  Columbia  side  of  the  main  range,  is  Yoho 
Park,  with  an  area  of  about  560  square  miles. 
The  boundaries  of  this  park  also  will,  it  is  hoped, 
be  enlarged  in  the  near  future.    West  again, 

[82] 


Mary  M.  Vaux,  W.  S.  Vaux,  and  G.  Vaux,  Jr. 

MOUNT    LEFROY     AND     LAKE     LOUISE 

{After  a  midsummer  snowstorm) 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

and  still  following  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  we  come  to  Glacier  Park,  in  the 
Selkirk  Mountains,  with  an  area  of  468  square 
miles.  Farther  north,  on  the  main  line  of  the 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway,  the  Canadian 
Government  has  lately  estabUshed  Jasper  Park, 
with  an  area  of  1,000  square  miles.  This,  too, 
may  be  expanded  to  several  times  its  present  di- 
mensions within  the  next  few  years.^  It  is  pos- 
sible also  that  a  new  park  may  be  created 
between  Rocky  Mountain  Park  and  Jasper 
Park,  to  embrace  the  little-known  Brazeau  River 
country  and  possibly  the  upper  waters  of  the 
North  Saskatchewan,  with  the  great  peaks  that 
lie  up  toward  the  continental  divide.  Down  near 
the  International  Boundary,  at  the  extreme 
southwestern  comer  of  the  province  of  Alberta, 
is  Waterton  Lake  Park.  The  present  area  is 
only  sixteen  square  miles,  but  the  Government 
is  being  strongly  urged  to  extend  its  boundaries 
so  as  to  make  the  reserve  conterminous  with 
Glacier  Park  on  the  United  States  side,  thereby 
creating  what  would  in  effect  be  an  international 
park.^  North  again,  but  still  in  the  province  of 
Alberta,  are  Buffalo  Park  and  Elk  Island  Park, 

1  Increased  in  1914  to  4,400  square  miles. 

2  This  has  since  been  done,  the  present  area  of  the  park  being 
433  square  miles. 

[88] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  former  of  160  square  miles,  a  little  south  of 
Wainwright,  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Rail- 
way, and  the  latter,  about  the  same  area  as  Wa- 
terton  Lake  Park,  near  Lamont,  on  the 
Canadian  Northern  Railway.  The  former  is  the 
home  of  the  famous  herd  of  bujff alo,  now  number- 
ing over  1,200,  most  of  which  were  purchased  by 
the  Dominion  Government  in  1907  from  Michel 
Don  Pablo  of  Missoula,  Montana.  The  latter 
is  a  reservation  for  elk,  moose  and  other  large 
animals. 

In  addition  to  the  proposed  Brazeau  Park, 
access  to  which  would  be  provided  by  the  Cana- 
dian Northern  Railway,  plans  are  being  formu- 
lated for  a  new  park  west  of  Glacier,  to  include 
Mount  Revelstoke  and  the  surrounding  region, 
and  another  on  the  Pacific  Coast  not  far  from 
the  city  of  Vancouver,  to  include  the  country 
between  the  north  arm  of  Burrard  Inlet  and  Pitt 
River. 

The  somewhat  peculiar  boundaries  of  the  Ca- 
nadian National  Parks  may  call  for  a  word  of 
explanation.  It  wiU  be  noticed  that  on  their 
western,  or  rather  southwestern,  sides  Rocky 
Mountains  and  Jasper  Parks  stop  at  the  conti- 
nental divide,  or  in  other  words  at  the  boundary 

[34] 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

between  Alberta  and  British  Columbia.  The  ex- 
planation is  this:  when  British  Columbia  came 
into  the  Dominion  she  retained  control  of  the 
pubhc  lands  within  her  borders;  on  the  other 
hand  when  the  province  of  Alberta  was  created 
her  land  remained  vested  in  the  Dominion. 
Consequently  the  federal  authorities  may  estab- 
lish national  parks  wherever  they  will  on  the  Al- 
berta side  of  the  mountains,  but  have  no 
jurisdiction  on  the  British  Columbia  side  except 
in  one  particular  region.  This  is  a  strip  of  land 
forty  miles  wide,  or  twenty  miles  on  each  side  of 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  main  line,  extend- 
ing from  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  When  British  Columbia  en- 
tered Confederation  in  1871,  one  of  the  terms  of 
union  was  that  the  new  province  should  be  given 
railway  connection  with  Eastern  Canada.  In 
fulfilment  of  this  agreement,  the  Dominion 
granted  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  a  subsidy 
of  $25,000,000  and  25,000,000  acres  of  land. 
British  Columbia  was  also  to  give  a  money  sub- 
sidy to  the  company,  but  finding  it  impossible  to 
meet  its  obligations  the  Dominion  assumed  the 
burden  in  consideration  of  a  grant  of  this  forty- 
mile  strip  across  the  province.     It  is  in  this  strip, 

[35] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

therefore,  that  the  Yoho  and  Glacier  Parks  have 
heen  located,  as  well  as  the  proposed  park  at 
Burrard  Inlet. 

The  policy  of  the  Dominion  Government  in 
administering  its  national  parks  is  to  throw  them 
wide  open  to  the  people,  to  provide  convenient 
means  of  access  to  every  point  of  interest  within 
their  boundaries,  to  preserve  intact  their  natural 
beauties  and  safeguard  their  wild  life,  and  to 
grant  all  visitors  the  widest  liberty  consistent 
with  these  objects  and  with  the  interests  of  the 
people  themselves;  in  fact  to  provide  the  maxi- 
mum of  convenience  and  protection  with  the 
minimum  of  interference.  Thanks  largely  to  the 
intelligence,  broad-mindedness  and  genuine  en- 
thusiasm of  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  Parks, 
from  the  Commissioner  in  Ottawa  to  the  Forest 
Ranger  on  duty  in  some  remote  corner  of  the 
reservation,  the  administration  has  been  conspic- 
uously successful,  as  every  one  will  admit  who 
has  had  the  good  fortune  to  visit  any  of  these 
magnificent  national  playgrounds. 

The  extent  to  which  the  Parks  administration 
is  prepared  to  go  in  insuring  the  comfort  and 
convenience  of  those  who  seek  rest  or  pleasure  in 
the  mountains  is  admirably  illustrated  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  Commissioner's  Report : 

[36] 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

"The  Parks  Branch  policy  necessarily  relates 
to  the  quality  of  the  service  of  whatever  kind  ren- 
dered by  those  dealing  with  the  tourist :  character 
of  accommodation,  avoidance  of  congestion,  pro- 
tection against  extortion,  provision  of  minor  at- 
tractions to  fill  in  between  the  nature  trips,  con- 
struction and  maintenance  of  good  roads  and 
trails,  special  care  in  the  matter  of  the  dust  nui- 
sance and  rough  roads,  supervision  over  sanitary 
conditions,  water  supply,  horses  and  vehicles, 
guides,  drivers,  charges  and  rates,  furnishing  of 
full  and  reliable  information,  and,  generally,  the 
reduction  of  discomforts  to  a  minimum  and  the 
administration  of  affairs  so  that  the  tourist  shall 
be  as  satisfied  with  the  treatment  received  while  in 
the  parks  as  he  inevitably  must  be  with  the  scenic 
wonders  he  has  viewed." 

The  accommodation  of  the  hotels  in  the  parks 
is  excellent  in  every  way.  In  spite  of  their  out- 
of-the-way  situation  they  provide  all  the  comforts 
and  luxuries  of  city  hotels,  and  at  very  moderate 
rates.  There  are  several  good  hotels  at  Banff 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains  Park,  the  best  of  which 
is  the  Banff  Springs  Hotel,  maintained  by  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  The  railway  com- 
pany also  owns  the  very  comfortable  Chalet  at 
Lake  Louise,  in  the  same  park,  as  well  as  the 

[37] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

hotels  at  Field,  in  Yoho  Park,  and  Glacier,  in 
Glacier  Park.  The  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Rail- 
way has  also  decided  to  build  hotels  at  Jasper 
and  Miette  Hot  Springs,  in  Jasper  Park,  as  well 
as  at  Grand  Fork  in  Robson  Park,  within  full 
view  of  the  monarch  of  the  Canadian  Rockies, 
Mount  Robson.  Robson  Park  has  recently  been 
set  apart  by  the  Government  of  British  Colum- 
bia. Its  boundaries  extended  to  the  height  of 
land  where  they  run  with  those  of  Jasper  Park. 

One  of  the  admirable  features  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Canadian  National  Parks  is  the 
leasing  of  lots  on  nominal  terms,  so  that  those  who 
prefer  home  to  hotel  life  may  build  their  own 
cottages.  At  Banff  you  can  obtain  a  lot  for 
from  $8.00  to  $15.00  a  year,  according  to  posi- 
tion and  area.  The  leases  run  for  forty-two 
years,  with  the  privilege  of  renewal  for  an  equal 
period.  The  same  privilege  may  be  obtained  in 
Jasper  Park. 

One  of  the  principal  activities  of  the  Park  ad- 
ministration is  of  course  the  building  of  roads  and 
trails  to  the  various  points  of  interest,  mountains, 
lakes,  waterfalls,  and  so  forth.  The  Canadian 
parks  are  still  in  their  infancy  from  an  adminis- 
trative point  of  view,  and  an  immense  amount  of 
work  remains  to  be  done  before  their  innumera- 

[38] 


A>. 


Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 

CATHEDRAL     PEAK 

(From  Kicking  Horse  Pass) 


C.  W.  Lett 


MOOSE    PASS 

{On  the  Borders  of  Robson  Park) 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

ble  points  of  beauty  and  grandeur  are  made 
conveniently  accessible.  Still  it  is  possible  to- 
day to  reach  all  the  principal  peaks  and  valleys 
vrith  a  moderate  expenditure  of  time  and  energy. 
In  the  four  principal  parks,  Rocky  Mountains, 
Yoho,  Glacier  and  Jasper,  there  are  now.  163 
miles  of  good  carriage  road,  and  nearly  300  miles 
of  trail,  and  this  mileage  will  be  largely  increased 
within  the  next  few  years.  It  is  the  intention 
also  to  provide  foot-paths  to  all  the  nearer  points, 
with  rest-houses,  for  those  who  prefer  to  wander 
about  afoot. 

An  ambitious  project  closely  associated  with 
the  parks  is  the  automobile  road  from  Calgary 
to  Vancouver.  This  is  being  built  through  the 
co-operation  of  the  Dominion  Government,  the 
provincial  governments  of  Alberta  and  British 
Columbia,  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway. 
Portions  of  the  road  are  already  completed,  and 
the  balance  has  been  surveyed  and  the  necessary 
appropriations  provided.  The  present  coach 
road  from  Calgary  to  Banff  will  be  improved  to 
form  the  first  link ;  and  the  Banff  to  Laggan  road 
will  be  utilised  as  far  as  Castle  Mountain.  Here 
the  automobile  road  turns  up  Little  Vermilion 
Creek  to  Vermilion  Pass,  the  boundary  of  Rocky 
Mountains  Park  on  this  side.     From  Vermilion 

[39] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Pass  the  road  will  cross  the  Briscoe  Range  by 
Sinclair  Pass  to  Sinclair  Hot  Springs,  and  as- 
cend the  valley  of  the  Columbia  to  Windermere 
Lake  and  the  source  of  the  Columbia.  Crossing 
the  spit  of  land  that  separates  the  Columbia  from 
its  mighty  tributary  the  Kootenay,  the  road  will 
follow  the  latter  stream  to  Wardner,  then  turn 
west  to  Kootenay  Lake  and  Nelson,  cross  the 
Columbia  again  after  its  huge  bend  to  the  north, 
and  swing  down  to  the  international  boundary  at 
Grand  Forks,  where  connection  will  no  doubt 
be  made  some  time  with  automobile  roads  from 
the  south.  From  Grand  Forks  the  road  will  fol- 
low a  general  westerly  direction,  crossing  Okana- 
gan  River  near  Fairview,  ascending  the  Similka- 
meen,  traversing  the  Hope  Range  and  coming 
down  the  Coquihalla  to  Hope  on  the  Fraser 
River,  and  descending  the  Fraser  to  Vancouver. 

An  alternative  route  runs  west  from  Winder- 
mere, over  the  Wells  Pass,  crosses  the  Lardo 
country  to  Killarney  at  the  head  of  the  Lower 
Arrow  Lake,  thence  up  Fire  Valley  to  the  present 
wagon  road  near  Monashee  Mines,  follows  the 
road  to  Vernon  and  Grand  Prairie,  and  by  way 
of  Douglas  Lake  to  Merritt  and  a  junction  with 
the  route  already  described.  The  main  road 
from  Calgary  to  Vancouver  will  have  a  total 

[40] 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

length  of  about  six  hundred  miles,  and  will  pro- 
vide one  of  the  most  magnificent  scenic  routes  in 
the  world. 

From  Grande  Prairie  a  branch  is  projected  to 
Kamloops,  and  south  to  Nicola.  By  way  of 
Kamloops  and  Ashcroft,  also,  connection  may 
eventually  be  made  with  the  famous  Caribou 
Road  to  the  north  country,  and  in  the  far  north, 
the  Caribou  Road  may  be  extended  to  Fort 
George  and  up  the  Fraser  to  Robson  and  Jasper 
Parks,  bringing  the  traveller  back  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Rockies  at  Edmonton.  From  Kam- 
loops, again,  a  road  may  be  built  up  the  North 
Thompson  to  Robson  Park. 

Another  alternative  route,  and  one  that  has  al- 
ready been  practically  decided  upon,  will  swing 
east  from  Wardner  and  traverse  the  Crow's  Nest 
Pass  to  the  Alberta  side  of  the  mountains,  where 
it  will  follow  the  foothills  to  Calgary.  Still  an- 
other branch  of  the  main  motor  road  will  run 
from  Castle  Mountain  through  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  Yoho  Parks  to  Field  and  Golden, 
thence  up  the  Columbia  Valley  to  a  junction  with 
the  main  road.  Portions  of  this  branch  road  have 
already  been  built  by  the  Dominion  Government 
in  the  two  parks.  Apart  from  other  advantages, 
the  completion  of  this  branch  and  of  that  portion 

[41] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

of  the  main  road  from  Castle  Mountain  to  the 
Columbia  Valley,  will  provide  a  motor  road  with 
easy  grades  through  beautiful  valleys  and  over 
several  mountain  passes,  completely  encircling 
the  famous  region  of  magnificent  peaks,  snow- 
fields,  glaciers,  lakes  and  waterfalls  centring  in 
Lake  Louise,  a  region  which  in  its  combination  of 
majesty  and  beauty,  and  its  variety  of  colouring 
and  composition,  is  surely  without  a  peer.  From 
the  main  road  trails  will  lead  inward  to  Consola- 
tion Valley,  Moraine  Lake  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Ten  Peaks,  Paradise  Valley,  Lake  O'Hara,  the 
Ottertail  Range,  and  a  perfect  galaxy  of  great 
peaks  many  of  which  have  never  yet  been  climbed 
or  even  visited. 

As  already  mentioned,  the  administration  of 
the  Canadian  National  Parks  is  designed  to  in- 
terfere as  little  as  possible  either  with  the  natural 
features  of  the  parks  or  with  the  liberty  of  those 
who  come  to  enjoy  their  beauty.  There  are  in 
fact  only  two  important  must  nots  addressed  to 
visitors  in  the  Parks,  and  these  are  that  they 
must  not  destroy  trees,  and  that  they  must  not  kill 
wild  animals.  Even  in  these  cases  the  policy  is 
rather  one  of  education  than  prohibition.  People 
are  being  taught  to  appreciate  the  scenic  as  well 
as  material  value  of  the  forest  areas  in  the  parks, 

[42] 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

and  the  simple  precautions  that  are  necessary  to 
protect  these  areas  from  destruction  by  fire;  and 
they  are  also  learning  to  protect  rather  than  de- 
stroy the  wild  life  that  seeks  sanctuary  here. 
One  suggestion  only  remains  of  pohce  super- 
vision. If  you  bring  a  gun  into  any  of  the  Na- 
tional Parks,  it  is  sealed  as  you  cross  the  bound- 
ary, and  severe  penalties  are  provided  for  break- 
ing the  seal  while  the  sportsman  remains  within 
the  park. 

The  marvellous  effect  of  protected  areas  on  the 
increase  of  wild  life  has  been  often  commented 
upon,  but  the  instinct  which  seems  to  draw  all 
wild  creatures,  and  particularly  the  more  timid 
and  shy  animals,  to  these  sanctuaries  must  al- 
ways be  a  matter  of  interest  and  astonishment  to 
visitors.  To  one  who  has  watched  the  rapid  in- 
crease in  Rocky  Mountains  Park  and  the  other 
reservations  of  animals  which  a  few  years  ago 
were  rarely  seen,  the  situation  is  exceedingly 
gratifying.  The  diaries  of  park  officers  in  this 
regard  make  interesting  reading.  Deer  are  now 
found  everywhere  in  the  park,  and  have  become  so 
tame  that  "numbers  wandered  into  Banff  town 
and  remained  there  for  days."  Mountain  goat 
are  constantly  met  with  along  the  trails,  and  were 
lately  found  on  the  east  side  of  the  Spray  River, 

[43] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

which  had  not  occurred  for  many  years.  Flocks 
of  twenty-five  or  more  may  be  seen  any  day  along 
the  Banff-Laggan  road.  What  is  even  more 
satisfactory,  bighorn  which  had  entirely  disap- 
peared from  most  parts  of  the  Canadian  Rockies 
are  now  increasing  rapidly  in  the  Parks.  Black 
bear  have  become  numerous,  and  a  number  of 
grizzlies  and  cubs  have  been  seen,  as  well  as  red 
fox,  wolverine,  marten  and  lynx,  and  tracks  of 
mountain  lion.  Large  flocks  of  wild  duck  are  re- 
ported on  Bow  Lake,  as  well  as  ruffled  grouse, 
partridge,  rabbits  and  other  small  game  in  the 
woods.  Cinnamon  bear  are  reported  in  Jasper 
Park,  as  well  as  a  marked  increase  of  beaver. 

A  word  or  two  may  not  be  out  of  place  as  to 
some  of  the  plans  for  the  future  of  the  Parks  ad- 
ministration. The  Zoo  at  Banff  is  to  be  moved  to 
a  much  more  suitable  location  on  the  lower  slopes 
of  Tunnel  Mountain,  and  systematically  devel- 
oped with  the  object  of  making  it  a  complete  ex- 
hibition of  the  wild  life  of  Western  Canada.  A 
special  reserve  is  to  be  set  apart  in  some  suitable 
place  for  antelope,  which  do  not  appear  to  thrive 
in  any  of  the  existing  parks.  It  is  proposed  to  es- 
tablish a  protected  area  in  the  Fort  Smith  country 
about  seven  hundred  miles  north  of  Edmonton, 
for  the  preservation  of  the  herd  of  wood  buffalo 

[44] 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

— the  only  buffalo  still  living  in  the  wild  state. 
This  would  also  be  used  as  a  sanctuary  for  other 
animals  of  the  northern  regions.  It  is  also  pro- 
posed, following  the  very  successful  experiments 
in  Alaska,  to  provide  reservations  for  reindeer  in 
the  Yukon.  Another  suggestion,  which  it  is  ear- 
nestly hoped  may  be  adopted,  looks  to  the  setting 
apart  at  various  points  throughout  the  Dominion 
of  small  sanctuaries  for  the  preservation  of  bird 
Hfe. 

One  other  plan  that  is  being  earnestly  advo- 
cated by  the  progressive  Commissioner  of  Do- 
minion Parks  will  appeal  with  peculiar  force  to 
those  who  are  labouring  to  bring  the  physical, 
mental  and  moral  advantages  of  out-of-door  life 
within  reach  of  the  masses  of  our  city-dwellers. 
The  plan  is  simply  to  bring  National  Parks  to  the 
people — a  step  distinctly  in  advance  of  the  old 
pohcy  of  providing  parks,  and  letting  the  people 
get  to  them  if  they  were  able.  The  Commis- 
sioner recognises  the  fact  that  the  great  mountain 
parks  of  Canada  are  for  the  most  part  accessible 
only  to  the  comparatively  well-to-do.  To  the 
majority  of  those  who  live  in  the  cities  the  cost  of 
the  railway  journey  is  of  course  prohibitive.  He 
proposes,  then,  that  the  Dominion  Government 
should  secure  a  suitable  tract  of  wild  land  within 

[45] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

easy  reach  of  each  of  the  principal  centres  of 
population  throughout  the  country,  make  it  acces- 
sible by  means  of  roads  and  trails,  put  it  in  charge 
of  competent  wardens,  make  it  a  sanctuary  for 
the  wild  life  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  throw  it 
wide  open  to  the  people.  Probably  no  other  coun- 
try is  so  favourably  situated  for  such  a  measure  at 
the  present  time.  Wild  land,  with  every  variety 
of  delightful  natural  scenery,  may  still  be  set 
apart  or  secured  at  no  great  cost  within  an  hour 
or  so's  journey  of  most  of  the  Canadian  cities. 
At  the  same  time  these  cities  are  growing  at  a 
phenomenal  rate,  and  in  a  few  years'  time  when 
the  need  of  these  natural  playgrounds  of  the  peo- 
ple will  be  much  more  acute  than  it  is  to-day,  the 
cost  of  the  land  would  probably  be  prohibitive. 
An  illustration  of  what  may  be  done  for  other 
Canadian  cities  is  the  proposed  park  on  the  Brit- 
ish Columbia  coast  between  Burrard  Inlet  and 
Pitt  River.  This  park  will  be  of  great  benefit  to 
the  present  people  of  the  city  of  Vancouver,  but 
it  will  be  of  infinitely  greater  moment  to  the  Van- 
couver of  fifty  years  hence  with  its  population  of 
a  million  or  more. 

It  is  worth  while  to  read  the  debates  in  the 
Canadian  House  of  Commons  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  when  the  first  of  Canada's  National 

[46] 


NATIONAL  PARKS  OF  CANADA 

Parks  was  set  apart  for  the  benefit  of  the  people 
of  the  Dominion,  and  note  the  practical  unanim- 
ity of  sentiment  among  statesmen  on  both  sides 
of  politics.  Sir  John  Macdonald,  Sir  Richard 
Cartwright,  the  late  Lord  Strathcona,  Peter 
Mitchell,  and  many  others,  most  of  whom  have 
since  gone  beyond  the  reach  of  worldly  prob- 
lems, as  to  the  manifold  advantages  of  such  a 
policy.  Equally  significant  are  the  words  of  the 
present  Governor  General,  His  Royal  Highness 
the  Duke  of  Connaught,  at  a  meeting  in  Ottawa 
in  March,  1913.  "I  do  not  think,"  he  said,  "that 
Canada  realises  what  an  asset  the  nation  pos- 
sesses in  the  parks.  These  areas  have  been  pre- 
served from  the  vandal  hand  of  the  builder  for 
the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  people,  who  may 
take  their  holidays  there  and  keep  close  to  nature 
under  the  most  comfortable  conditions,  assuring 
a  store  of  health  which  will  make  them  the  better 
able  to  cope  with  the  strenuous  life  to  which  they 
return  after  their  vacation." 

Even  more  significant  are  the  words  of  Lord 
Bryce,  late  ambassador  to  the  United  States: 
"Let  us  think  of  the  future.  We  are  the  trustees 
of  the  future.  We  are  not  here  for  ourselves 
alone.  All  these  gifts  were  not  given  to  us  to  be 
used  by  one  generation  or  with  the  thought  of  one 

[47] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

generation  only  before  our  minds.  We  are  the 
heirs  of  those  who  have  gone  before,  and  charged 
with  the  duty  of  what  we  owe  to  those  who  come 
after,  and  there  is  no  duty  which  seems  to  be 
higher  than  that  of  handing  on  to  them  undimin- 
ished facilities  for  the  enjoyment  of  some  of  the 
best  gifts  the  Creator  has  seen  fit  to  bestow  upon 
His  people." 


[48] 


Ill 

IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 


Ill 

IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

BANFF  is  probably  one  of  the  most  cos- 
mopolitan communities  in  the  world. 
Although  its  permanent  population 
hardly  exceeds  one  thousand,  about  75,000  visi- 
tors registered  during  the  season  of  1913,  coming 
from  every  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the  globe, 
Finland  and  Tasmania,  the  Isle  of  Man  and  the 
Fiji  Islands,  Siam,  Korea  and  Japan,  Norway, 
Egypt  and  the  Argentine,  New  Zealand,  Mexico, 
Turkey  and  Borneo.  In  fact,  one  is  rather  sur- 
prised to  find  no  representative  here  from  Green- 
land or  Terra  del  Fuego.  The  bulk  of  these 
tourists  of  course  come  from  other  parts  of 
Canada,  from  the  United  States,  and  from  the 
United  Kingdom,  but  practically  every  country 
in  the  world  sends  its  quota,  large  or  small,  to  this 
wonderful  playground  in  the  heart  of  the  Cana- 
dian Rockies. 

To  accommodate  all  these  visitors  there  are  sev- 
eral comfortable  hotels  in  Banff,  notably  the 
Banff  Springs  Hotel,  and  the  Chateau  Bundle. 

[51] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

The  Banff  Springs  Hotel,  which  has  been  repeat- 
edly enlarged  to  meet  the  ever-increasing  require- 
ments of  tourist  traffic,  stands  on  the  summit  of  a 
rocky  butte  above  the  junction  of  the  Bow  and 
Spray  Rivers,  and  commands  a  strikingly  beauti- 
ful view  to  the  eastward  where  the  Bow  has  forced 
a  passage  between  Tunnel  Mountain  and  Mount 
Rundle.  Bow  Falls  He  immediately  beneath, 
and  in  the  distance  the  Fairholme  Range  makes  a 
splendid  background. 

Of  the  large  number  of  tourists  who  visit  the 
Canadian  Alps,  the  majority  do  not  get  very  far 
away  from  Banff.  The  reason  is  perhaps  not 
hard  to  seek.  At  Banff  they  find,  without  any 
particular  effort,  delightful  views  of  mountain 
scenery,  with  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of 
eastern  pleasure  resorts.  Comparatively  short 
carriage  drives  over  good  roads  take  them  to  a 
dozen  points  of  interest  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood. One  of  the  most  popular  of  these  is 
the  Cave  and  Basin,  a  mile  or  so  up  the  valley  of 
the  Bow,  where  one  may  enjoy  a  plunge  into  the 
clear  green  waters  of  the  pool.  Other  springs, 
with  a  much  higher  temperature,  boil  out  of  the 
upper  slope  of  Sulphur  Mountain,  flowing  over  a 
series  of  brilliantly  coloured  terraces  into  natural 
limestone  pools.     Here,  as  well  as  at  the  Basin, 

[52] 


IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

bath-houses  have  been  provided  with  every  appli- 
ance for  those  who  seek  health  or  merely  pleasure. 
The  drive  up  to  the  springs,  through  the  pines, 
and  with  ever-widening  views  of  the  enchanting 
valley,  is  well  worth  while  for  its  own  sake. 

A  much  finer  view,  however,  is  to  be  had  from 
the  summit  of  Tunnel  Mountain.  One  may 
drive,  ride,  or  if  he  prefers  a  little  moderate  ex- 
ercise, walk  to  the  summit.  The  southern  face 
of  Tunnel  Mountain  drops  in  a  sheer  precipice 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  to  the  valley  of  the  Bow. 
Beyond  rises  the  rugged  bulk  of  Bundle,  with  the 
Goat  Range  in  the  distance,  the  Spray  winding 
as  a  silver  thread  down  the  valley,  the  Bow 
sweeping  down  from  the  north-west,  a  noble  circle 
of  peaks  filling  the  horizon  to  the  north-west  and 
north,  the  VermiHon  Lakes  sparkling  in  their  em- 
erald setting,  and  around  to  the  north-east,  a 
glimpse  of  Lake  Minnewanka. 

With  a  fishing  rod,  and  any  other  congenial 
companion,  an  enjoyable  canoe  trip  may  be  had 
to  Vermilion  Lakes.  The  way  lies  up  the  Bow  to 
Echo  Creek,  and  by  this  miniature  waterway  to 
the  lakes.  As  an  afternoon's  paddle  nothing 
more  deUghtful  could  be  imagined,  and  the  fish- 
ing is  excellent,  but  the  reaUy  serious  fisherman 
will  prefer  the  longer  trip  to  Lake  Minnewanka 

[63] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

where  lake  trout  are  to  be  had  of  fighting  temper 
and  phenomenal  size.  Fourteen  fish  of  a  total 
weight  of  forty-three  pounds  represented  one 
day's  catch  of  a  couple  of  sportsmen  in  this  lake ; 
sixteen  caught  the  following  day  weighed  forty- 
eight  pounds.  These,  however,  were  pygmies  be- 
side the  gigantic  trout  landed  by  Dr.  Seward 
Webb  in  1899,  which  tipped  the  scales  at  forty- 
seven  pounds.  To  silence  the  incredulous,  this 
monster  is  still  preserved  in  a  glass  case  at  the 
Minnewanka  Chalet. 

A  drive  of  nine  miles  from  Banff,  skirting  the 
base  of  Cascade  Mountain,  lands  the  traveller  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Minnewanka.  On  the  way  he 
may  visit  a  herd  of  about  25  buffalo,  and  enjoy 
the  view  from  the  rustic  bridge  down  into  the 
Devil's  Canyon.  The  lake  is  some  sixteen  miles 
in  length,  and  one  may  explore  it  either  in  a  boat 
or  by  chartering  the  launch  provided  by  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Railway.  It  swings,  in  the  shape  of 
a  great  sickle,  around  the  base  of  Mount  Inglis- 
maldie,  whose  dizzy  precipices  soar  some  thou- 
sands of  feet  into  the  sky,  with  the  glorious  pin- 
nacles of  Mount  Peechee  in  the  background. 

Another  dehghtful  drive  leads  past  the  Cave 
and  Basin  and  around  the  northern  end  of  Sul- 
phur Mountain  to  Sundance  Canyon,  a  weird  lit- 

[54] 


IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

tie  gorge  through  which  Sundance  Creek  rushes 
down  to  its  junction  with  the  Bow.  The  plateau 
above  the  gorge  was  at  one  time  a  favourite  In- 
dian camping  ground,  and  the  scene  of  the  bar- 
baric Sun  Dance. 

On  the  northern  bank  of  the  Bow,  high  up 
above  the  river,  stand  a  number  of  those  fan- 
tastic natural  monuments  called  Hoodoos,  an  ex- 
cellent view  of  which  may  be  gained  by  taking 
the  drive  aroimd  the  Loop  to  the  foot  of  Moimt 
Rundle. 

So  far  we  have  been  confined  to  points  of  in- 
terest at  no  great  distance  from  the  village  of 
Banff,  and  reached  in  each  case  by  well-built  car- 
riage roads.  Back  and  forth  over  these  roads 
throughout  the  season  drive  streams  of  pilgrims, 
absorbing  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  the  manifold 
beauties  of  mountain,  lake  and  river,  wild  canyon 
and  sunny  meadow,  sombre  pine  woods  and 
mountain  slopes  blazing  with  the  rainbow  colours 
of  countless  wildflowers;  but  above  all,  drinking 
in  the  glorious  sunlight  and  revivifying  air  of  the 
mountains.  The  great  majority  will  always  pre- 
fer to  worship  nature  from  the  comfortable  if 
somewhat  crowded  seat  of  a  tally-ho,  with  a  lux- 
urious hotel  to  return  to  in  the  evening,  and 
after  all  why  should  one  blame  them;  but  there 

[55] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

will  always  be  some  who  prefer  the  wild  moun- 
tain trail  to  the  macadamized  road,  the  cayuse 
with  all  his  idiosyncrasies  to  the  upholstered 
coach,  and  the  camp-fire  to  all  the  luxuries  of  a 
modem  hotel. 

Fortunately  there  are  to-day,  and  will  be  for 
some  years  to  come,  many  miles  of  trail  for  each 
mile  of  road  within  the  confines  of  the  Canadian 
National  Parks.  The  present  policy  seems  to  be 
to  gradually  develop  the  trails  into  carriage  roads, 
but  one  may  venture  the  hope  that  this  policy  will 
not  be  carried  too  far.  The  thought  of  driving 
to  the  foot  of  Mount  Assiniboine  on  a  motor  bus, 
and  having  its  glories  profaned  by  a  professional 
guide  perhaps  through  a  megaphone,  is  too  pain- 
ful to  admit. 

The  evolution  of  mountain  roads  is  an  interest- 
ing problem  in  itself.  The  foundation  is  nearly 
always  an  Indian  trail,  one  of  those  ancient  thor- 
oughfares that  run  hither  and  thither  through- 
out the  mountains,  following  the  courses  of  in- 
numerable streams,  and  winding  up  over  moun- 
tain passes  and  down  again  to  the  valleys  that  lie 
beyond.  There  is  a  peculiar  thrill  of  excitement 
in  falling  imexpectedly  upon  one  of  these  relics  of 
other  days.  The  imagination  leaps  back  to  the 
time  when  Indian  hunters  followed  them  in  search 

[56] 


IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

of  elk  and  deer,  mountain  goat  and  bighorn. 
With  the  exception  of  a  handful  of  Stonies,  whose 
days  are  numbered,  the  Indian  no  longer  hunts  in 
the  mountains;  and  the  trails  he  once  followed  are 
now  mostly  covered  with  underbrush  or  blocked 
with  fallen  timber. 

The  first  step  in  the  conversion  of  an  Indian 
trail  into  a  modern  road  is  to  cut  through  the 
down  timber.  Expert  axemen  are  sent  out  for 
this  work,  which  varies  according  to  circumstances 
from  the  cutting  out  of  an  occasional  log  to  the 
hewing  of  a  path  through  a  tangle  of  fallen  trees 
ten  or  fifteen  feet  high.  Wherever  possible  the 
latter  is  of  course  left  severely  alone,  but  it 
sometimes  happens  that  no  way  around  the  ob- 
stacle can  be  found  and  there  is  nothing  for  it  but 
to  cut  out  a  path.  The  huge  game  of  jack-straws 
may  cover  only  a  few  yards,  or  it  may  extend  for 
several  miles. 

Incidentally  the  axemen  straighten  the  trail 
more  or  less.  The  practice  among  the  Indians, 
and  after  them  the  fur-traders  and  white  trap- 
pers, was  to  follow  an  old  trail  until  a  fallen  tree 
blocked  the  way.  It  would  have  to  be  a  formid- 
able obstacle  to  stop  the  average  cayuse,  but  occa- 
sionally even  that  professional  acrobat  was 
brought  to  a  standstill.     The  rider  in  such  case 

[57] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

never  cut  his  way  through  if  it  could  be  avoided. 
He  followed  the  lines  of  least  resistance,  turned 
right  or  left  through  the  standing  timber  until  he 
had  won  around  the  fallen  tree  and  back  to  the 
trail  again.  The  next  man  took  the  new  path, 
until  he  was  perhaps  brought  up  by  a  later  wind- 
fall and  in  his  turn  added  another  twist  to  the 
devious  course  of  the  original  trail.  It  can 
readily  be  imagined  that  these  forest  thorough- 
fares did  not  at  any  period  of  their  history  repre- 
sent the  shortest  route  between  any  two  points; 
and  it  may  as  well  be  admitted  here  that  the  policy 
of  every  man  for  himself  in  trail-making  is  as 
active  to-day  as  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago. 
Each  one  of  us  who  has  camped  in  unfamiliar  val- 
leys of  the  mountains  must  plead  guilty  to  the 
same  selfish  practice.  Hurrying  along  the  trail, 
anxious  perhaps  to  reach  a  certain  camping- 
ground  before  dark,  the  temptation  to  flank  a 
fallen  tree  rather  than  laboriously  cut  through 
it,  is  irresistible.  The  thought  is  there,  though 
we  may  not  admit  it,  that  we  may  never  come  this 
way  again,  and  the  next  man  must  look  out  for 
himself. 

It  remains  for  the  trail-makers  to  unravel  the 
tangled  skein  and  reduce  it  to  something  very 
remotely  resembling  a  straight  line.     Having  cut 

[58] 


IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

through  the  fallen  timber  and  roughly  bridged 
the  deeper  creeks,  the  result  is  a  good  pack  trail. 
This  is  widened  and  cleared  from  year  to  year; 
levelled,  graded  and  provided  with  substantial 
bridges,  to  convert  it  into  a  carriage  road ;  and  fi- 
nally macadamized.  And  as  the  picturesque  trail 
is  converted  into  the  eminently  modern  and  re- 
spectable macadamized  road,  the  equally  pictur- 
esque pack-train  disappears  and  in  its  place  we 
see,  and  smell,  that  emblem  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, the  automobile. 

However,  let  us  not  meet  trouble  half-way. 
There  are  still,  thank  fortune,  many  miles  of  trail 
in  the  Canadian  national  parks  which  the  most 
enterprising  automobile  could  not  possibly  nego- 
tiate, and  many  more  miles  of  wonderful  moun- 
tain country  that  as  yet  are  even  trailless.  From 
the  main  road  which  follows  the  Bow  River,  and 
roughly  speaking  runs  south-east  and  north-west 
through  the  centre  of  the  Banff  Park,  good 
trails  branch  off  on  either  side  up  every  important 
valley.  Portions  of  some  of  these  have  been  con- 
verted into  roads,  such  as  those  to  Lake  Minne- 
wanka,  Sundance  Canyon  and  up  Spray  River. 
From  the  Chalet  at  the  western  end  of  Lake 
Minnewanka,  where  the  road  now  ends,  a  trail 
has  been  opened  along  the  north  shore  of  the  lake 

[59] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

to  its  eastern  extremity,  through  the  Devil's  Gap 
and  Ghost  Valley,  and  across  the  South  Fork 
of  Ghost  River  to  the  Stony  Indian  Reserve, 
which  lies  just  outside  the  Park. 

Ghost  Valley  is  a  weird,  uncanny  canyon,  the 
scene  of  many  wild  Indian  legends.  It  is  believed 
to  mark  the  ancient  valley  of  the  Bow,  Minne- 
wanka  and  a  couple  of  smaller  lakes  being  the  sole 
remaining  relics  of  the  channel.  No  water 
now  runs  through  Ghost  Valley,  though  moun- 
tain torrents  and  waterfalls  dash  down  its  precipi- 
tous sides.  Each  disappears  in  its  limestone  bed, 
which  must  cover  a  network  of  subterranean  chan- 
nels. The  mountains  end  abruptly  in  the  Devil's 
Gap,  from  which  one  looks  out  on  the  plains,  or 
rather  on  the  border  land  between  plain  and 
mountain.  A  few  miles  to  the  north  rises  a  grim 
peak  known  as  the  Devil's  Head,  and  the  whole 
country  is  studded  with  Hoodoos  and  other 
strange  natural  features  appropriate  to  such  a 
region. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  who  entered  the  moun- 
tains by  the  Devil's  Gap  on  his  expedition  of 
1841,  camped  by  the  side  of  Lake  Minnewanka, 
which  he  named  Lake  Peechee  after  his  guide,  a 
chief  of  the  Mountain  Crees.  Peechee  is  still  re- 
membered in  the  splendid  peak  which  rises  behind 

[60] 


Canadian  Pacific   Railway  Company 

TRAIL    NEAR    BANFF 


IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

Mount  Inglismaldie.  Ghost  Valley  was  the 
scene  of  an  exploit  of  which  Sir  George  Simpson 
tells  the  story. 

A  Cree  and  his  squaw  had  been  tracked  into  the 
vaUey  by  five  warriors  of  a  hostile  tribe.  "On 
perceiving  the  odds  that  were  against  him,  the 
man  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  observing  to  the 
woman  that  as  they  could  die  but  once  they  had 
better  make  up  their  minds  to  submit  to  their 
present  fate  without  resistance.  The  wife,  how- 
ever, replied  that  as  they  had  but  one  life  to  lose, 
they  were  the  more  decidedly  bound  to  defend  it 
to  the  last,  even  under  the  most  desperate  circum- 
stances ;  adding  that,  as  they  were  young  and  by 
no  means  pitiful,  they  had  an  additional  motive 
for  preventing  their  hearts  from  becoming  small. 
Then,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  the  heroine 
brought  the  foremost  warrior  to  the  earth  with  a 
bullet,  while  the  husband,  animated  by  a  mixture 
of  shame  and  hope,  disposed  of  two  more  of  the 
enemy  with  his  arrows.  The  fourth,  who  had  by 
this  time  come  to  pretty  close  quarters,  was  ready 
to  take  vengeance  on  the  courageous  woman  with 
uphfted  tomahawk,  when  he  stumbled  and  fell; 
and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  dagger  of  his 
intended  victim  was  buried  in  his  heart.  Dis- 
mayed at  the  death  of  his  four  companions,  the 

[61] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

sole  survivor  of  the  assailing  party  saved  himself 
by  iSight,  after  wounding  his  male  opponent  by  a 
ball  in  the  arm." 

Other  trails  lead  up  Cascade  River  from  the 
Minnewanka  road,  and  over  the  Park  bound- 
aries to  the  Panther  River  country,  connecting 
also  at  Sawback  Creek  with  the  Forty  Mile  trail; 
and  up  the  east  bank  of  Spray  River,  and  between 
the  Goat  Range  and  the  Three  Sisters,  to  Trout 
Lakes,  connecting  with  the  road  which  follows  the 
west  bank  of  the  Spray,  and  continuing  on  to  the 
foot  of  Mount  Assiniboine,  just  over  the  Park 
boundaries,  which  on  this  southwestern  side  fol- 
low the  height  of  land.  Another  runs  from  the 
end  of  the  Sundance  Canyon  road  up  Healy 
Creek  to  Simpson  Pass,  with  a  branch  trail  to  Fa- 
tigue Mountain  on  the  divide ;  while  others  again 
take  you  up  Redearth  Creek  to  Shadow  Lake  and 
one  of  the  giants  of  this  part  of  the  Rockies, 
Mount  Ball,  and  by  way  of  Johnston  Creek  to  the 
Sawback  Range  and  its  wonderful  glaciers.  It  is 
impossible  to  give  any  real  impression  of  the 
marvellous  region  through  which  these  mountain 
trails  lead  you,  of  its  scores  of  great  peaks  whose 
turrets,  spires  or  domes  climb  into  the  very 
heavens,  of  its  snow-fields  and  glaciers,  bleak 
mountain  passes  and  exquisite  alpine  meadows 

[62] 


IN  AND  ABOUT  BANFF 

carpeted  with  millions  of  flowers,  its  primaeval 
forests  and  rushing  torrents,  sparkHng  waterfalls 
and  emerald  or  turquoise  lakes.  To  appreciate 
the  mountains,  you  must  come  and  see  them  at 
first  hand,  and  to  see  them  at  their  very  best,  you 
must  take  tent  and  pony  and  provisions,  not  for- 
getting tobacco  if  you  are  a  normal  man,  and  get 
well  out  on  the  trail,  away  from  hotels  and  rail- 
ways and  every  suggestion  of  the  artificial  hf  e  you 
have  left  behind  you. 


[63] 


IV 

THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN: 


IV 
THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

MOUNT  ASSINIBOINE  lies  about 
sixteen  miles  from  Banff  as  the  crow 
flies,  but  by  trail  it  is  more  than  twice 
that  distance.  It  is  not  visible  from  any  of  the 
lower  mountains  about  Banff,  such  as  Tunnel 
and  Sulphur,  being  hidden  by  the  intervening 
ranges,  but  if  you  are  sufficient  of  a  mountain- 
climber  to  win  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Bundle 
you  will  gain  a  view  of  the  mighty  pyramid  to  the 
south  that  will  alone  make  the  climb  worth  while. 
Cascade  Mountain,  some  miles  north  of  the  Bow, 
also  offers  the  ambitious  climber  an  inspiring 
sight  of  the  Matterhom  of  the  Rockies.  Sir 
James  Outram,  the  famous  mountaineer,  who  was 
the  first  man  to  reach  the  simmiit  of  Assiniboine, 
says  that  the  view  he  had  of  the  peak  from  the 
summit  of  Cascade  Mountain,  towering  over  two 
thousand  feet  above  where  he  stood,  first  fired  his 
ambition  to  conquer  what  was  then  believed  to  be 
an  unscalable  peak. 

The  first  mention  of  Mount  Assiniboine  is  in 
the  report  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  expedition  of 

[67] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  late  George  M.  Dawson,  of  the  Canadian 
Geological  Survey,  in  1884.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  the  peak  may  have  been  seen  by  the  mission- 
ary De  Smet,  who  crossed  the  White  Man's  Pass 
in  1845,  but  he  says  nothing  about  it  in  his  narra- 
tive. Dr.  Dawson  first  saw  the  peak  from  Cop- 
per Mountain,  some  distance  west  of  Banff,  and 
later  from  White  Man's  Pass,  near  what  is  now 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  Park.  He  named 
it  after  the  tribe  of  Indians  known  as  the  Assini- 
boines. 

But  although  Dr.  Dawson  and  his  party  of  sur- 
veyors saw  and  admired  Mount  Assiniboine  from 
a  distance,  neither  he  nor  any  other  white  man  is 
known  to  have  reached  its  base  until  1893,  when 
R.  L.  Barrett,  an  American  mountain-climber, 
with  Tom  Wilson  of  Banff,  made  their  way  to  its 
foot  by  way  of  Healy  Creek,  Simpson  Pass  and 
Simpson  River.  Two  years  later  Mr.  Barrett 
made  a  second  trip  to  the  mountain  by  the  same 
route,  accompanied  this  time  by  James  F. 
Porter  and  Walter  Dwight  Wilcox,  who  has 
since  become  widely  known  as  an  interpreter  of 
Rocky  Mountain  scenery.  Tom  Wilson  out- 
fitted the  party,  but  was  unable  to  accompany 
them.  He  sent,  however,  one  of  his  best  men. 
Bill  Peyto. 

[68] 


Mary  M.  Vaux,  W.  S.  Vaux,  and  0.  Vaux,  Jr. 

MOUNT    AS8INIBOINE 

(  The  Matterhorn  of  the  Rockies  ) 


THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

Wilson,  Peyto  and  Fred  Stephens  are  the 
guides  of  the  Canadian  Rockies.  There  are  to- 
day scores  of  more  or  less  capahle  guides  in  the 
various  National  Parks,  but  these  three  alone  are 
famous.  One  or  other  of  them  has  accompanied, 
or  led,  nearly  every  expedition  of  any  note  into 
the  unexplored  parts  of  the  mountains.  Tom 
Wilson  is  not  only  a  competent  outfitter  and  a 
splendid  guide,  but  he  is  also  a  renowned  spinner 
of  yarns,  and  a  very  mine  of  information  on  the 
Rockies.  As  some  one  has  said  of  him,  he  knows 
more  about  the  Canadian  Rockies  than  any  other 
man  has  ever  yet  possessed.  A  visit  to  Tom  Wil- 
son is  not  the  least  delightful  of  memories  that 
the  intelligent  tourist  will  carry  away  with  him 
from  Banff.  Stephens  and  Peyto  are  men  of  the 
same  calibre,  unerring  on  the  trail,  delightful 
around  the  camp-fire,  and  withal  thoroughly  good 
fellows.  But  we  must  leave  them  for  the  pres- 
ent, and  return  to  the  Assiniboine  expedition. 

The  first  camp  was  made  on  Healy  Creek, 
where  they  arrived  after  a  long  tramp  over  a  bad 
trail,  soaked  through  from  wet  brush,  but  never- 
theless thoroughly  happy.  The  camp-fire  soon 
dried  their  clothes,  a  hot  supper  was  before  them, 
and  after  that  they  would  roll  themselves  up  in 
their  blankets  and  sleep  as  only  those  may  sleep 

[69] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

whose  bed  is  of  balsam  boughs  and  who  breathe 
the  life-giving  air  of  the  mountains.  Above  all, 
they  were  on  the  road  to  Assiniboine. 

The  next  day's  journey  took  them  up  the  north 
fork  of  Healy  Creek,  and  they  camped  a  few 
miles  from  Simpson  Pass,  crossing  the  continental 
divide  from  Alberta  into  British  Columbia  the 
following  morning.  At  the  summit  the  snow 
drifts  were  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  deep,  though  it 
was  the  month  of  July,  but  as  they  turned  down 
the  southerly  slope  the  snow  disappeared  and  in 
its  place  appeared  immense  banks  of  white  ane- 
mones and  yellow  Alpine  lilies.  The  mossy 
woods  through  which  the  trail  led  them  the  pre- 
vious day  had  been  carpeted  with  the  round- 
leafed  orchid,  with  here  and  there  a  nodding  Ca- 
lypso, one  of  the  most  daintily  beautiful  and  fra- 
grant of  the  mountain  flowers. 

On  the  northern  side  of  the  pass  they  had  left 
behind  a  stream  whose  waters  eventually  flow  into 
Hudson  Bay.  An  Indian  trail  now  led  them 
through  deep  and  sombre  woods,  beside  the  banks 
of  a  river  which  empties  into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  following  day  they  travelled  through  the 
Simpson  valley,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  river 
or  its  small  branches,  and  camping  in  a  high 
valley  two  thousand  feet  above  the  river,  above 

[70] 


THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

which  again  towered  on  either  side  smooth  cliffs 
whose  dark  faces  were  relieved  with  silvery  water- 
falls. Opposite  the  camp  the  walls  of  the  moun- 
tain had  been  carved  by  nature  into  one  of  those 
curiously  realistic  representations  of  a  mediaeval 
castle  that  is  found  here  and  there  in  the  Rockies. 
"One  might  easily  imagine  that  these  sharp  pin- 
nacles and  rocky  clefts  were  ramparts,  embra- 
sures, and  turreted  fortifications.  But  the  wild 
goats,  marmots  and  picas  were  the  sole  owners  of 
this  castle." 

A  few  hours'  tramp  brought  them  the  next  day 
to  the  summit  of  a  high  pass,  from  which  they  had 
their  first  glimpse  of  Assiniboine,  piercing  the  sky 
beyond  an  intervening  barrier  of  snowy  peaks. 
Another  day's  journey,  through  fallen  timber, 
along  the  winding  shore  of  a  beautiful  lake,  and 
over  a  rocky  ridge  to  a  second  lake,  brought  them 
to  the  object  of  their  heart's  desire.  Assiniboine 
at  last! 

"The  majestic  mountain,"  says  Wilcox,  "which 
is  a  noble  pyramid  of  rock  towering  above  snow 
fields,  was  clearly  reflected  in  the  water  surface. 
Such  a  picture  so  suddenly  revealed  aroused  the 
utmost  enthusiasm  of  all  our  party,  and  uncon- 
sciously every  one  paused  in  admiration  while  our 
horses  strayed  from  the  trail  to  graze.     Continu- 

[71] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

ing  once  more,  we  traversed  some  open  places 
among  low  ridges  covered  with  beautiful  larches. 
We  passed  through  a  delightful  region  which  de- 
scended gently  for  half  a  mile  to  a  treeless  moor, 
where  we  pitched  camp.  Behind  us  was  a  clump 
of  trees,  before  us  Mount  Assiniboine,  and  on  our 
left  a  lake  of  considerable  size,  which  washed  the 
very  base  of  the  mountain  and  extended  north- 
wards in  the  bottom  of  a  broad  valley." 

Here  they  remained  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  ex- 
ploring the  neighbourhood,  and  obtaining  photo- 
graphs of  the  mountain,  some  of  which  are  repro- 
duced in  Wilcox's  wonderfully  illustrated  book 
on  the  Rockies.  A  couple  of  days  were  spent  by 
Wilcox,  Barrett  and  Peyto  in  a  complete  circuit 
of  the  mountain,  a  distance  as  they  were  com- 
pelled to  travel  of  fifty-one  miles,  through  a  coun- 
try for  the  most  part  absolutely  devoid  of  trails, 
and  covered  in  places  with  a  very  wilderness  of 
fallen  timber.  For  hours  their  only  means  of 
travel  was  along  the  tops  of  prostrate  trunks  piled 
ten  and  twelve  feet  above  the  ground.  They 
were  rewarded,  however,  by  a  magnificent  view  of 
the  south  side  of  Mount  Assiniboine,  never  before 
revealed  to  white  men. 

The  fascination  of  this  singularly  noble  peak 
and  its  splendid  setting  of  neve  and  glacier,  lake 

[72] 


AMONG  Tlir.  ^  AN^iDIAN  ALPS 

ing  once  more,  we  traversed  some  open  places 
among  low  ridges  covered  with  beautiful  larches. 
We  passed  through  a  delightful  region  which  de- 
scended gently  for  half  a  mile  to  «  treeless  moor, 
where  wc  pitched  camp-  Behind  us  was  a  clump 
of  trees,  before  us  Mount  Assiniboinc,  and  on  our 
left  a  Uke  of  considerable  size,  which  washed  the 
very  b*se  of  the  mountain  and  extended  north- 
ward >  in  the  bottom  of  a  broad  valley/' 

Htre  they  remained  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  ex- 
pJorif^g  the  neigh1x)url»od,  and  obtaining  photo- 
graphs of  the  mountaiitj  mme  of  which  are  repro- 
duced in  Wilcox's  wog»^  '  '  itinstrmted  book 
on  the  Rockies.  A  co^>«  ^-i  vkajrs  were  spent  by 
Wilcox,  Barrett  and  S^ji;o  in  a  complete  circuit 
of  the  mountain,  a  dijance  as  they  were  com- 
pelled to  travel  of  fifty-one  miles,  through  a  coun- 
try for  the  most  part  absolutely  devoid  of  trails, 
and  covered  in  places  with  a  very  wilderness  of 
fallen  timber.  For  hours  their  only  means  of 
travel  waa  along  the  tops  of  prostrate  tnmks  piled 
ten  and  twelve  feet  above  the  ground.  They 
were  rewarded,  however,  by  a  magiiific^r '  -  "^  of 
the  south  side  of  Mount  Assi?^ '^  •  > ■  '  ( 

f'f'Tt^aled  to  white  men, 

-  fascination  of  this  singi  »t>le  peak 

4fid  its  splendid  setting  of  neve  imd  glacier,  lake 


THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

and  forest,  drew  Mr.  Wilcox  to  its  feet  again  in 
1899,  accompanied  this  time  by  Henry  G.  Bryant 
and  Louis  J.  Steele,  who  made  the  first  attempt  to 
climb  the  mountain,  reaching  an  elevation  of  ten 
thousand  feet.  Approaching  storms  then  drove 
them  back,  and  on  the  last  ice  slope  they  both  had 
a  narrow  escape.  Steele  lost  his  foothold  and 
dragged  Bryant  with  him.  "There  was  but  one 
possible  escape  from  a  terrible  fall.  A  project- 
ing rock  of  considerable  size  appeared  not  far  be- 
low, and  Steele  with  a  skilful  lunge  of  his  ice-axe 
swung  round  to  it  and  anchored  himself  in  a  nar- 
row crevice  where  the  snow  had  melted  away. 
No  sooner  had  he  come  to  a  stop  than  Bryant  shot 
over  him  from  above  and  likewise  found  safety. 
Otherwise  they  would  have  fallen  about  six  hun- 
dred feet,  with  serious  if  not  fatal  results." 

An  incident  of  the  outward  journey  is  so  char- 
acteristic of  one  of  the  innumerable  phases  of 
Rocky  Mountain  scenery  that  one  may  venture 
to  borrow  Mr.  Wilcox's  graphic  description: 
"Whatever  interest  there  may  have  been  to  learn 
our  whereabouts  was  absorbed  upon  reaching  the 
ridge  crest  by  a  revelation  of  wild  and  gloomy 
grandeur  that  I  have  never  seen  equalled.  Our 
little  band  of  men  and  horses  were  standing  upon 
a  craggy  ledge,  where  splintered  rocks,  frost- 

[73] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

rent  and  rough,  rose  through  perpetual  snows, 
making  a  tower  of  observation,  whence  we  looked 
out  upon  a  mountain  wilderness.  Shifting  winds 
were  sweeping  fog-banks  and  clouds  far  above 
the  highest  trees  of  a  forest-clad  valley,  not 
faintly  discernible  through  the  storm.  Yet  they 
were  below  the  crest  of  our  lofty  pinnacle,  where 
our  storm-beaten  band  of  horses,  steaming  in 
moisture,  stood  darkly  outlined  against  the  pale 
mists.  No  gleam  of  light  broke  through  the  lurid 
sky.  The  monotonous  grey  of  falling  snow  had 
given  place  to  heaving  bands  of  clouds,  for  the 
storm  was  breaking.  Then  slowly  and  myste- 
riously beyond  a  dark  abyss  rose  a  beautiful  vis- 
ion of  mountains  clad  in  new  snow.  Their  bases 
rested  on  unsubstantial  fog,  their  tops  were  par- 
tially concealed  by  clinging  mists,  and  they  were 
apparently  so  far  away  as  to  seem  like  the  highest 
mountains  in  the  world." 

Their  route  to  the  mountain  from  Banff  had 
been  by  a  branch  of  Healy  Creek  to  the  conti- 
nental divide  and  along  this  high  plateau  to  Simp- 
son valley;  they  returned  by  way  of  the  Spray. 
This  is  now  the  recognised  route  to  Assiniboine, 
along  which  the  Park  authorities  have  opened  a 
good  trail.  Mr.  Wilcox  describes  it  as  the 
easiest,  and  at  the  same  time  most  uninteresting, 

[74] 


THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

of  several  possible  routes;  and  that  by  way  of 
Healy  Creek  and  the  continental  divide  as  the 
most  varied  and  attractive.  A  good  trail  is  now 
available  up  Healy  Creek  to  the  plateau,  and  no 
doubt  in  time  it  will  be  extended  to  Mount  Assini- 
boine.  Another  shorter  route  by  the  south  fork 
of  Healy  Creek  has  also  been  partially  opened ;  so 
that  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  visit  the  monarch  of  the  southern  Cana- 
dian Rockies  by  any  one  of  several  alternative 
routes. 

Although  popularly  reputed  to  be  unscalable, 
attempts  were  made  after  that  of  Bryant  and 
Steele  to  get  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Assiniboine, 
first  by  two  brothers  named  Walling,  and  later  by 
Bryant  and  Wilcox,  but  without  success  although 
the  first  record  of  ten  thousand  feet  was  consider- 
ably increased.  Finally,  however,  in  1901,  Mr. 
(now  Sir  James)  Outram,  with  two  Swiss  guides, 
Hasler  and  Bohren,  reached  the  highest  peak 
after  six  hours'  climbing.  The  story  of  the  climb 
is  modestly  told  in  Outram's  book,  the  following 
passages  from  which  will  give  some  idea  at  least 
of  the  stupendous  precipices  that  had  to  be  negoti- 
ated and  the  skill  and  daring  demanded  in  such 
a  climb.  On  the  way  up  Outram  rested  for  a 
time  near  the  summit  of  one  of  the  spurs  of  the 

[75] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

main  peak.  "Here,"  he  says,  "for  some  moments 
I  stood  in  solemn  awe,  perched  Hke  a  statue  in  a 
lofty  niche  cut  in  the  topmost  angle  of  a  vast,  ti- 
tanic temple,  with  space  in  front,  on  either  side, 
above,  below,  the  yawning  depths  lost  in  the 
wreathing  mists  that  wrapped  the  mountain's 
base." 

After  a  perilous  ascent  where  nerve,  sure-f oot- 
edness,  and  quick  judgment  were  needed  every 
moment,  they  finally  reached  the  summit  of  the 
mountain.  "One  at  a  time — the  other  two  se- 
curely anchored — we  crawled  with  the  utmost 
caution  to  the  actual  highest  point  (an  immense 
snow  cornice)  and  peeped  over  the  edge  of  the 
huge,  overhanging  crest,  down  the  sheer  wall  to  a 
great  shining  glacier  6000  feet  or  more 
below.  .  .  .  Perched  high  upon  our  isolated  pin- 
nacle, fully  1500  feet  above  the  loftiest  peak  for 
many  miles  around,  below  us  lay  unfolded  range 
after  range  of  brown-grey  mountains,  patched 
with  snow  and  some  times  glacier  hung,  inter- 
sected by  deep  chasms  or  broader  wooded  valleys. 
A  dozen  lakes  were  counted,  nestling  between  the 
outlying  ridges  of  our  peak,  which  supply  the 
head-waters  of  three  rivers — the  Cross,  the  Simp- 
son and  the  Spray." 

After  resting  on  the  summit,  it  was  decided  to 

[76] 


A.  Kneehtel 


MOUNT    EDITH 


A.  0    Wheeler 

TOWERS    OF    MOUNT     BABEL 


(  Consolation  Valley  ) 


THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

descend  by  another  and  even  more  difficult  route 
— one  in  fact  that  had  hitherto  been  thought  im- 
possible. Outram  had  studied  it  from  below, 
however,  and  was  confident  that  it  could  be  ne- 
gotiated. 

"Well  roped,"  he  writes,  "and  moving  gener- 
ally one  at  a  time,  we  clambered  downward  foot 
by  foot,  now  balancing  upon  the  narrow  ledge, 
5000  feet  of  space  at  our  right  hand;  then  scramb- 
ling down  a  broken  wall-end,  the  rocks  so  friable 
that  handhold  after  handhold  had  to  be  aban- 
doned, and  often  half  a  dozen  tested  before  a  safe 
one  could  be  found ;  now,  when  the  ridge  became 
too  jagged  or  too  sheer,  making  our  cautious  way 
along  a  tiny  ledge  or  down  the  face  itself,  clinging 
to  the  cold  buttresses,  our  fingers  tightly  clutch- 
ing the  scant  projection  of  some  icy  knob,  or  dig- 
ging into  small  interstices  between  the  rocks; 
anon,  an  ice-slope  had  to  be  negotiated  with  la- 
borious cutting  of  steps  in  the  hard  wall-like  sur- 
face; and  again,  chff  after  cliff  must  be  recon- 
noitred, its  slippery  upper  rim  traversed  imtil  a 
cleft  was  found  and  a  gymnastic  descent  effected 
to  the  ice-bound  declivity  that  fell  away  beneath 
its  base. 

"  For  close  upon  2000  feet  the  utmost  skill  and 
care  were  imperative  at  every  step;  for  scarcely 

[77] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

half  a  dozen  could  be  taken  in  that  distance  where 
an  imroped  man  who  slipped  would  not  inevitably 
have  followed  the  rejected  handholds  and  debris, 
that  hurtled  down  in  leaps  and  bounds  to  crash  in 
fragments  on  the  rocks  and  boulders  far  below." 

Beside  this  daring,  climb  down  the  steep  north 
arete  of  Assiniboine  may  be  placed  an  even  more 
perilous  incident  of  the  descent  of  Mount  Bryce 
the  following  year.  Outram  had  made  the  ascent 
with  the  Swiss  guide  Christian  Kaufmann,  tak- 
ing eleven  hours  to  reach  the  sunmiit.  With  a 
long  and  difficult  climb  down  the  mountain  in 
prospect,  and  a  particularly  dangerous  cliff  to  be 
negotiated,  which  had  been  troublesome  enough 
on  the  way  up  and  would  be  much  more  danger- 
ous now,  they  spent  very  little  time  on  the  sum- 
mit. 

"It  was  almost  dark,"  says  Outram,  "when  we 
approached  the  well  remembered  cliff,  which  had 
been  continually  on  our  minds,  and  to  reach  which 
before  nightfall  had  been  the  object  of  our  hasty, 
foodless  march.  But  we  arrived  too  late.  And 
now  the  question  arose  as  to  the  wisest  course  to 
take.  We  were  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma.  To 
go  on  meant  descending  practically  in  the  dark  a 
cliff  which  we  had  deemed  so  difficult  by  daylight 
as  almost  to  be  deterred  from  undertaking  it  at 

[78] 


THE  CANADIAN  MATTERHORN 

all.  But  on  the  other  hand,  a  night  out  10,000 
feet  above  the  sea,  without  the  smallest  vestige  of 
shelter,  on  the  exposed  sky-Hne  of  a  ridge  swept 
by  an  arctic  wind,  with  boots  and  stockings  satu- 
rated and  certain  to  freeze  (and  possibly  the  feet 
inside  as  well)  before  the  dawn  could  aid  us  on 
our  way,  and  almost  destitute  of  food,  offered  a 
prospect  particularly  uninviting.  I  left  the  de- 
cision to  Kaufmann.  The  risk  was  practically  his 
alone.  For  me,  descending  first  with  the  good 
rope  in  his  trusty  grasp,  there  was  no  danger, 
even  should  I  slip  or  fail  to  find  a  hold,  except 
for  the  short  distance  where  both  would  be  upon 
the  face  at  the  same  time.  For  him,  a  shp,  a 
lost  grip  or  a  broken  hold  might  mean  destruc- 
tion. But  he  voted  for  advance,  and  at  any  rate 
I  could  make  a  trial  and  report  upon  my  per- 
sonal sensations  before  his  turn  arrived.  So  I 
turned  my  face  towards  the  rock,  slipped  over  the 
edge,  and  entered  on  the  fateful  climb. 

"It  will  be  long  before  I  lose  the  recollection  of 
those  seventy  feet  of  cHff.  Drawn  out  for  one 
long  hour  of  concentrated  tension  were  the  suc- 
cessive experiences  of  hopeless  groping  in  the 
dark  depths  for  something  to  rest  a  foot  upon,  of 
blind  search  all  over  the  chilled  rocky  surface  for 
a  knob  or  tiny  crack  where  the  numbed  fingers 

[79] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

might  find  another  hold,  of  agonizing  doubt  as  to 
their  stability  when  found,  of  eerie  thrill  and  sick- 
ening sensation  when  the  long-sought  support 
crumbled  beneath  the  stress  and  hurtled  down- 
ward into  the  blackness  of  space,  whilst  the  hol- 
low reverberations  of  its  fall  re-echoed  through 
the  silence.  Then  the  strain  of  waiting  on  the 
best,  but  very  questionable,  protuberances  for 
several  tense  minutes  of  motionless  suspense, 
whilst  the  exigencies  of  the  rope  compelled  Chris- 
tian to  climb  down  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  I 
could  move  again.  At  long  last  came  the  marvel- 
lous relief  of  feeling  solid  and  sufficient  stand- 
ing-room once  more,  followed  by  the  still  more 
trying  period  of  inactivity,  the  patient  intensity 
of  watching  and  hauhng  in  the  slack  as  the  rope 
came  slowly  and  spasmodically  down,  telling  of 
Christian's  gradual  descent,  the  strained  anxiety 
lest  any  accident  should  happen  to  my  comrade, 
and,  finally,  the  thankfulness  of  seeing  his  figure 
looming  close  above  and  in  a  few  moments  stand- 
ing by  my  side,  and  we  could  breathe  again." 


[80] 


V 

INCOMPARABLE  LAKE  LOUISE 


V 

INCOMPARABLE  LAKE  LOUISE 

THIRTY-FIVE  miles  west  of  Banff  on 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  still 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains  Park,  is  the 
village  of  Laggan.  You  may  make  the  journey 
by  train  or  motor,  in  either  case  enjoying  a  suc- 
cession of  magnificent  views  of  mountain  peaks 
on  either  side,  culminating  in  the  majestic  Mount 
Temple.  From  Laggan  a  tramway  or  a  some- 
what dusty  ride  or  drive  of  two  or  three  miles 
up  the  mountain  side  brings  you  to  the  Chalet, 
on  the  shores  of  Lake  Louise;  but  if  you  are  wise 
you  will  take  the  woodland  trail  and  walk.  The 
trail  winds  up  through  the  woods,  cool  and  fra- 
grant, with  wild-flowers  about  you  on  every  side, 
charming  glimpses  of  forest  glades  and  moun- 
tain torrents,  and  far  above  the  aeolian  music  of 
the  breeze  in  the  tree  tops.  The  trail  ends  at  the 
Chalet,  a  rambling,  picturesque,  and  thoroughly 
comfortable  hotel,  crowded  with  tourists  from 
the  ends  of  the  earths  Your  thoughts  are  not, 
however,  of  hotel  or  tourists  ^s  you  look  beyond 

[83] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  trees,  and  get  your  first  vivid  impression  of 
what  is  probably  the  most  perfect  bit  of  scenery 
in  the  known  world.  A  lake  of  the  deepest  and 
most  exquisite  colouring,  ever  changing,  defying 
analysis,  mirroring  in  its  wonderful  depths  the 
sombre  forests  and  cliffs  that  rise  from  its  shores 
on  either  side,  the  gleaming  white  glacier  and 
tremendous,  snow-crowned  peaks  that  fill  the 
backgroimd  of  the  picture,  and  the  blue  sky  and 
fleecy  cloud  overhead.  Year  after  year  you  may 
revisit  Lake  Louise,  and' wander  about  its  shores 
through  all  kinds  of  weather;  you  will  never  ex- 
haust the  variety  of  its  charms.  It  changes  from 
day  to  day,  from  hour  to  hour,  from  moment  to 
moment.  It  responds  instantly  to  every  subtle 
change  of  cloud,  wind  or  atmosphere;  it  has  one 
glory  of  the  sunrise  and  another  of  sunset;  it  of- 
fers you  one  picture  under  the  brilliant  noonday 
sun,  another  under  heavy  clouds,  another  through 
driving  mists,  or  rain,  or  snow;  but  always  in- 
comparably beautiful,  and  always  indescribable. 

Let  us  see  how  it  has  appealed  to  different 
men,  who  have  visited  it  at  different  times  and 
under  varied  conditions.  As  long  ago  as  1888 
William  Spotswood  Green,  of  the  British  Alpine 
Club,  climbed  up  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Louise  on 
his  way  back  from  a  season's  mountain-climbing 

[8*] 


Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 

PARADISE    VALLEY 

(  From  the  Saddleback ) 


Canadian  Pacific:  Railway  Company 

GIANT     STEPS 

Head  of  Paradise  Valley 


INCOMPARABLE  LAKE  LOUISE 

in  the  Selkirks.  "I  was,"  he  says,  "quite  unpre- 
pared for  the  full  beauty  of  the  scene.  Nothing 
of  the  kind  could  possibly  surpass  it.  I  was 
somewhat  reminded  of  the  Oeschinen  See  in 
Switzerland,  but  Lake  Louise  is  about  twice  as 
long,  the  forests  surrounding  it  are  far  richer,  and 
the  grouping  of  the  mountains  is  simply  perfec- 
tion." 

"Lake  Louise,"  says  Walter  Dwight  Wilcox, 
"is  a  realisation  of  the  perfect  beauty  of  nature 
beyond  the  power  of  imagination." 

Sir  James  Outram  quotes  the  final  verdict  of 
one  whom  he  describes  as  "a  close  observer  of  na- 
ture and  enthusiastic  lover  of  the  picturesque," 
to  this  effect:  "I  have  travelled  in  almost  every 
country  under  heaven,  yet  I  have  never  seen  so 
perfect  a  picture  in  the  vast  gallery  of  Nature's 
masterpieces."    And    Outram    himself    writes: 

"As  a  gem  of  composition  and  of  colouring  it 
IS  perhaps  unrivaUed  anywhere.  To  those  who 
have  not  seen  it  words  must  fail  to  conjure  up  the 
glories  of  that  'Haunted  Lake  among  the  pine- 
clad  mountains,  forever  smiling  upward  to  the 
skies.'  A  master's  hand  indeed  has  painted  aU 
its  beauties ;  the  turquoise  surface,  quivering  with 
fleeting  ripples,  beyond  the  flower-strewn  sweep 
of  grassy  shore ;  the  darkening  mass  of  tapering 

[85] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

spruce  and  pine  trees,  mantling  heavily  the 
swiftly  rising  slopes  that  culminate  in  rugged 
steeps  and  beetling  precipices,  soaring  aloft  into 
the  sun-kissed  air  on  either  side;  and  there,  be- 
yond the  painted  portals  of  the  narrowing  valley, 
rich  with  the  hues  of  royal  purple  and  of  sunset 
reds,  the  enraptured  gaze  is  lifted  to  a  cUmax  of 
superb  effects,  and  the  black  walls  of  Mount  Le- 
froy,  surrounded  by  their  dazzling  canopy  of 
hanging  glaciers,  and  the  wide  gable-sweep  of 
Mount  Victoria,  resplendent  with  its  spotless  cov- 
ering of  eternal  snow,  crown  the  matchless  scene. 
The  azure  dome  of  heaven,  flecked  with  bright, 
fleecy  clouds  like  angel's  wings,  completes  the 
picture." 

Tom  Wilson  seems  to  have  been  the  first  white 
man  to  visit  the  shores  of  Lake  Louise.  At  least 
his  is  the  first  visit  of  which  there  is  any  record. 
According  to  Wilcox,  he  camped  with  a  pack 
train  near  the  mouth  of  the  Pipestone  in  1882, 
when  some  Stony  Indians  came  along  and  placed 
their  tepees  near  him.  "Not  long  after,  a  heavy 
snow-slide  or  avalanche  was  heard  among  the 
mountains  to  the  south,  and  in  reply  to  inquiry 
one  of  the  Indians  named  Edwin,  the  Gold 
Seeker,  said  that  the  thunder  came  from  a  *big 
snow  mountain  above  the  lake  of  little  fishes'. 

[86] 


INCOMPARABLE  LAKE  LOUISE 

The  next  day  Wilson  and  Edwin  rode  through 
the  forests  to  the  lake  of  little  fishes,  which  was 
named  subsequently  for  the  Princess  Louise," 
then  in  Canada  as  the  wife  of  the  Governor  Gen- 
eral, the  late  Duke  of  Argyll. 

Professor  A.  P.  Coleman,  of  Toronto  Uni- 
versity, who  has  spent  many  summers  in  the 
Canadian  Rockies,  and  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  and  entertain- 
ing narratives  of  exploration  in  this  fascinating 
field,  visited  Lake  Louise  two  years  after  Tom 
Wilson.  "I  scrambled  along  its  shores,"  he  says, 
"then  unnamed  and  without  marks  of  human 
habitation  where  the  comfortable  chalet  now 
rises."  Many  of  us  would  give  a  good  deal  to 
treasure  in  our  memory  a  picture  of  Lake  Louise 
sans  chalet  and  sans  tourists. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway  built  an  unpretentious  log  inn  on 
the  shores  of  the  lake,  with  accommodation  for  a 
few  guests.  This  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1893. 
It  was  rebuilt  the  following  year,  and  has 
been  repeatedly  enlarged  to  meet  the  demands  of 
an  ever-growing  stream  of  tourists,  the  last  addi- 
tion costing  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
half  a  million  dollars.  The  railway  has  also  pro- 
vided a  good  road  and  trail  from  Laggan  up  to 

[87] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  Chalet,  and  opened  several  trails  to  points  of 
interest  about  the  lake.  These  have  since  been 
improved  and  extended  in  every  direction  by  the 
Canadian  government. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  spot  in  the  moun- 
tains accommodates  itself  so  generously  to  all 
tastes  and  capacities  as  does  Lake  Louise.  If 
you  are  hopelessly  indolent,  you  may  stroll  down 
to  the  shore,  over  a  carpet  of  wild-flowers,  and 
lazily  enjoy  the  matchless  picture  of  Lefroy  and 
Victoria  with  the  gem  of  a  lake  in  the  foreground. 
Or  a  half-mile's  walk  along  the  excellent  trail  that 
skirts  the  right-hand  side  of  the  lake  will  prove  a 
revelation  of  ever-changing  and  always  superb 
views.  The  walk  may  be  extended  to  the  farther 
end  of  the  lake,  and  back  by  the  other  side  where 
the  path  climbs  along  the  steep  slope  of  Fairview 
Mountain.  An  alternative  trip,  and  a  particu- 
larly delightful  one  in  the  early  morning  or  the 
evening  twilight,  is  to  take  one  of  the  boats  at  the 
Chalet  and  row  to  the  end  of  the  lake  and  back. 
The  distance  is  extraordinarily  deceptive.  It 
looks  but  a  stone*s-throw,  yet  when  you  have 
rowed  three-quarters  of  a  mile  you  find  that  you 
are  not  much  more  than  half-way.  You  look  up 
on  either  side  to  the  towering  cliif s,  and  feel  like  a 
water  beetle  in  the  bottom  of  a  gigantic  cup.  And 
[88] 


INCOMPARABLE  LAKE  LOUISE 

what  a  wonderful  liquid  is  contained  in  this  cup ; 
so  clear  that  you  grow  dizzy  as  you  gaze  down 
and  down  into  its  unfathomable  depths,  and  so 
marvellously  steeped  in  colour  that  it  is  impossible 
to  believe  as  you  dip  into  it  that  your  hand  will 
not  come  up  the  same  deep  turquoise. 

From  the  end  of  the  lake  a  trail  leads  to  the 
foot  of  Victoria  Glacier,  opening  up  an  ever- 
changing  panorama  of  dazzling  snow-fields  and 
terrific  precipices.  This  way  lies  the  road  of  the 
experienced  mountaineers  who  with  skill  and  dar- 
ing win  their  way  to  the  summits  of  these  giants 
far  up  amid  the  clouds.  It  was  by  this  road  and 
the  Lefroy  Glacier  that  Wilcox  some  years  ago 
unexpectedly  discovered  Paradise  Valley. 

A  good  trail  now  leads  from  the  Chalet  around 
Saddle  Mountain  to  Paradise  Valley,  but  one  of 
the  finest  views  of  the  valley  with  dainty  Lake 
Annette  and  the  gigantic  guardian  peaks  that 
tower  above.  Temple,  Aberdeen,  Sheol  and  the 
Mitre,  can  be  obtained  from  Saddle  Mountain, 
reached  by  an  easy  trail.  One  does  not  readily 
forget  the  exquisite  view  that  rewards  the  climber 
as  he  reaches  the  summit  of  the  Saddle  and 
stands  on  the  edge  of  a  thousand-foot  precipice 
that  drops  sheer  to  the  valley,  and  yet  seems  in- 
significant when  the  eye  goes  up  and  up  to  the 

[89] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

glittering  peak  of  Temple  Mountain  soaring 
thousands  of  feet  above.  The  very  contrast  of 
the  frowning  walls  that  shut  it  in  on  every  side 
lends  an  additional  charm  to  the  fairyland  that 
lies  at  their  feet,  a  perfect  picture  of  green 
meadows,  blue  lake  and  silvery  streams,  most 
appropriately  named  Paradise  Valley. 

From  the  Saddle  a  zigzag  trail  leads  to  the 
summit  of  Fairview  Mountain,  from  which  one 
may  look  down  upon  Lake  Louise  whose  ever- 
shifting  shades  of  blue  and  green  seem  even 
deeper  and  richer  than  seen  from  the  shore. 

From  the  Chalet  again  a  ride  or  climb  up  the 
trail  that  branches  off  on  the  right-hand  side  of 
the  lake  brings  one  to  Mirror  Lake  and  Lake 
Agnes.  The  distance  to  the  former  is  about  two 
miles,  and  a  little  more  to  Lake  Agnes.  Mirror 
Lake  lies  at  the  foot  of  a  curious  rock  called  the 
Beehive,  and  Lake  Agnes  is  reached  by  a  short 
climb  up  the  slope  of  the  mountain.  The  lakes 
themselves  are  well  worth  the  climb,  but  one  is 
rewarded  as  well  with  entirely  new  views  of  the 
encircling  peaks,  and  tramps  through  a  bewilder- 
ing garden  of  Alpine  flowers  among  which  one 
finds  the  antennaria  and  bryanthus,  which  so 
curiously  resemble  edelweiss  and  purple  heather. 
'    A  short  distance  north  of  Lake  Agnes  is  the 

[90] 


Mary  M.  Vaux,   W.  S.   Vaux,  and  G.   Vaux,  Jr. 

MORAINE    LAKE 


INCOMPARABLE  LAKE  LOUISE 

Little  Beehive,  a  mere  knob  on  the  mountain, 
from  which,  however,  a  magnificent  view  is  ob- 
tained of  a  far-flung  panorama  of  tremendous, 
snow-clad  mountains,  blue  lakes,  green  forest 
slopes  and  sparkling  glaciers.  *'I  have  never," 
says  Wilcox,  "seen  this  glorious  ensemble  of  for- 
ests, lakes  and  snow  fields  surpassed  in  an  experi- 
ence on  the  summits  of  more  than  forty  peaks  and 
the  middle  slopes  of  as  many  more  in  the  Cana- 
dian Rockies."  And,  as  he  adds,  the  viewpoint 
is  accessible  to  even  the  most  indifferent  climbers, 
or  may  be  managed  on  horseback. 

From  the  Chalet,  also,  a  trail  of  ten  miles 
leads  to  the  Valley  of  the  Ten  Peaks  and  Mo- 
raine Lake,  or  the  valley  may  be  reached  by  a  car- 
riage road  which  extends  to  the  foot  of  the  lake. 
Another  trail  runs  from  Moraine  Lake  around 
an  imposing  cliff  known  as  the  Tower  of  Babel 
to  Consolation  Valley,  and  still  another  leads  in 
the  opposite  direction  to  Wenkchemna  Glacier. 

A  somewhat  longer  expedition  from  Lake 
Louise  is  by  trail  west  to  the  height  of  land  at 
Stephen,  then  down  the  picturesque  Valley  of  the 
Kicking  Horse,  and  up  Cataract  Creek  on  the 
western  side  of  Mount  Victoria,  to  Lake  O'Hara. 
This,  however,  takes  one  into  Yoho  Park,  of 
which  something  will  be  said  in  the  next  chapter. 

[91] 


VI 

THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 


VI 
THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 

TRAVELLING  west  on  the  main  line 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  we 
cross  the  continental  divide  at  or  near 
Stephen.  The  actual  summit  is  marked  by  a 
rustic  arch.  From  the  steep  mountainside  comes 
a  little  stream  which  branches  above;  the  two 
branches  flow  through  the  arch  and  then  sepa- 
rate, one  bound  for  the  Pacific  the  other  for  the 
Atlantic. 

This  arch  marks  not  only  the  height  of  land 
but  also  the  boundary  between  Rocky  Moun- 
tains Park  and  Yoho  Park,  the  former  in  the 
Province  of  Alberta,  the  latter  in  British  Colum- 
bia. An  hour's  run  brings  us  to  the  headquar- 
ters of  Yoho  Park  at  Field,  with  Mount 
Stephen's  massive  dome  far  above,  six  thousand 
four  himdred  feet  from  where  we  stand. 

With  Field  as  a  starting-point  we  can  reach  by 
road  or  trail  all  the  principal  points  of  interest  in 
the  park,  the  Kicking  Horse  Canyon  and  the 
Natural  Bridge,  Mount  Stephen  and  the  famous 

[95] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

fossil  beds.  Emerald  Lake,  the  Amiskwi  Valley, 
Lake  O'Hara,  Lake  Oesa  and  Lake  McArthur, 
and  the  wonderful  valley  from  which  the  park 
takes  its  name,  with  its  exquisitely  beautiful 
waterfalls. 

At  Field,  as  at  Banif  in  Rocky  Mountains 
Park  and  Glacier  in  Glacier  Park,  a  number  of 
Swiss  guides  are  stationed  throughout  the  season, 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  enjoy  the  pleasures 
of  mountain-climbing.  Mount  Stephen,  on  ac- 
count of  its  accessibihty  and  the  magnificent 
views  that  reward  the  mountaineer,  is  the  most 
climbed  peak  in  the  Canadian  Rockies.  Unhke 
some  of  its  huge  neighbours,  such  as  Cathedral 
Mountain,  Lefroy,  Deltaform,  Hungabee  and 
Goodsir,  it  is  within  the  capacity  of  any  reason- 
ably energetic  man  or  woman,  with  or  without 
experience  in  mountain-climbing,  provided  one 
has  the  assistance  of  a  competent  guide. 

In  the  autumn  of  1904  Mount  Stephen  was 
climbed  under  conditions  that  could  not  be  recom- 
mended to  any  but  the  most  expert  and  clear- 
headed of  mountain-climbers.  Rev.  George 
Kinney  was  then  at  Field,  and  had  gone  for  a 
solitary  ramble  to  the  fossil  beds  on  Mount 
Stephen.  After  several  hours  spent  in  gather- 
ing trilobites  he  ate  his  lunch,  and  then  the  desire 

[96] 


Mary  M.   Vaux,   W.  S.   Vaux,   and  G.    Vaux,  Jr. 

TAKAKKAW    FALLS 

{Voho  Valley) 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 

seized  him  to  get  some  pictures  from  the  summit 
of  the  mountain.  Shouldering  his  two  cameras 
he  set  out  to  chmb  the  peak. 

"It  only  took  a  few  minutes,"  he  says,  "to  climb 
to  the  top  of  the  spur  immediately  above  the 
fossil  bed  and  to  get  above  the  last  of  the  strug- 
gling timber  growth,  when  there  burst  into  view 
a  scene  that  beggars  description:  Cathedral 
Mountain,  its  perpendicular  heights  searching 
the  very  heavens,  formed  one  unbroken  wall  of  a 
vast  amphitheatre.  There,  ridge  on  ridge,  tier 
on  tier,  the  parallel  ledges,  cushioned  with  snow, 
rose  in  countless  numbers  for  thousands  of  feet. 
In  such  places  as  these  the  spirits  of  the  mountain 
sit  and  watch  the  changing  scenes  of  the  hills  in 
the  vast  arena  before  them.  Sometimes  it  is  a 
procession  of  sheep,  or  goats,  or  deer,  or  bear,  or 
the  eagle  gracefully  sailing.  Sometimes  it  is  the 
frisking  mountain  rat,  or  the  whistling  marmot, 
or  the  busy  haymaker  curing  his  crops  of  hay  on 
the  hot  rocks  of  the  slide.  Or  again  it  is  the 
grand  orchestra  of  the  hills,  breaking  forth  in  the 
roar  of  the  avalanche,  the  scream  of  the  wind,  the 
fall  of  the  cataract,  or  the  crumbling  of  the 
peaks. 

"For  a  mile  or  more  it  was  easy  going  over  a 
gentle  slope  covered  with  rocks  and  snow.     The 

[97] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

clouds  had  gradually  broken  up  before  the  genial 
warmth  of  the  sun,  and  the  Kickmg  Horse  River 
seemed  a  little  thread  of  silver  that  wound,  with 
countless  twists  and  turns,  in  a  level  valley  be- 
low. Field,  with  its  roundhouses  and  trains  and 
big  hotel  seemed  but  a  little  dot,  and  when  an  en- 
gine whistled  a  thousand  echoes  tossed  the  sound 
from  side  to  side,  from  peak  to  peak,  from  canyon 
to  canyon,  until  it  was  lost  in  immensity. 

"The  climb  was  uneventful  up  to  the  time  the 
cliffs  near  the  top  were  reached.  It  had  been  a 
fairly  easy  slope  all  the  way.  The  snow  began 
at  timber  line,  and  was  hard  enough  to  walk  on  its 
top.  Mount  Dennis  was  slowly  left  behind  and 
sank  to  a  mere  hillock  beneath.  Mounts  Field 
and  Burgess  gradually  shpped  down  until 
Wapta  and  then  the  Vice-President,  with  an 
emerald  glacier  in  its  lap,  came  in  full  view  from 
behind. 

"By  making  a  detour  I  could  have  found  an 
easier  way,  but,  having  no  guide  and  never  hav- 
ing been  there  before,  I  began  to  climb  the  wall 
of  rock  immediately  in  front.  It  was  a  most  dif- 
ficult climb.  The  short  day  was  nearly  ended, 
the  warmth  of  the  sun  had  given  place  to  a  raw, 
cold  wind,  and  my  pack  being  large  and  heavy  got 
in  the  way.     Nearing  the  top  of  this  almost  verti- 

[98] 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 

cal  cliff  my  numb  fingers  slipped  and  I  barely  es- 
caped a  sheer  fall  of  fully  one  hundred  feet. 
Surmounting  the  cliff,  it  proved  but  a  vanguard 
of  many.  Height  on  height  of  barefaced  cliffs 
offered  their  resistance  in  succession,  each 
crowned  with  snow-covered  ledges.  Gradually, 
however,  they  were  vanquished,  one  by  one,  and 
at  last  I  stood  on  the  glory-crowned  summit,  ten 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 

"Mounts  Field,  Burgess  and  Wapta  lay  far 
beneath.  President  and  Vice-President  gleamed 
and  glistened  in  the  near  distance.  Cathedral 
Mountain,  close  by,  seemed  almost  on  a  level. 
Here,  there,  everywhere,  some  in  groups,  others 
in  serried  ranks,  were  massed  the  war-scarred 
veterans  of  an  innumerable  host — the  rugged 
remnants  of  a  vast  ancient  plateau  stretching 
north,  southeast  and  west,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
see.  All  this  vast  array  of  snow-clad  peaks, 
frowning  precipices,  glistening  glaciers,  and 
yawning  gulfs  was  burnished  with  the  glowing 
hues  of  the  setting  sun.  I  watched  him  sink  be- 
hind the  distant  fringe  of  peaks  in  the  west,  and 
when  he  was  gone  how  lonely  and  chill  those  som- 
bre old  masses  seemed.  I  shouted  aloud,  but  my 
voice  was  immediately  swallowed  up  in  that  awful 
stillness,  for  there  was  nothing  to  give  it  an  echo. 

[99] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

"I  did  not  stay  long  on  the  summit,  for  the 
raw,  cold  winds  that  had  frozen  the  snow  in  crys- 
tals several  inches  long  chilled  one  to  the  bone. 
The  darkness  of  night  began  to  swallow  up  the 
distant  hills,  and  it  was  necessary  to  get  down 
the  cliffs  while  there  was  still  light  to  see  the  way. 
I  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when,  following  a 
ledge  around  more  to  the  south,  I  made  a  grand 
discovery.  There,  filHng  a  steep,  rugged  ravine 
that  seemed  to  extend  all  the  way  to  Cathedral 
Mountain  was  a  smooth  pathway  of  snow,  steep 
as  the  roof  of  a  house.  One  question  flashed  to 
my  mind:  would  it  be  frozen  too  hard?  I  cau- 
tiously tried  it.  Yes!  it  was  hard,  but  with  care 
it  could  be  travelled.  By  launching  out  freely 
and  letting  the  whole  weight  come  down  on  each 
foot  at  a  time,  the  heels  could  be  forced  a  couple 
of  inches  into  the  solid  snow.  Here,  indeed,  was 
the  best  kind  of  speedy  going:  swing  out  one  foot, 
spring  from  the  other,  and  land  on  the  heel  in  an 
inch  or  two  of  snow.  Each  stride  covered  a  dis- 
tance of  several  feet,  and  it  was  possible  to  run 
down  that  steep  precipice  of  snow  as  fast  as  I 
liked,  but  my  life  depended  on  each  heel  getting 
that  httle  two  inches  of  a  hold;  one  slip  would 
mean  a  fearful  slide  to  death.  There  was  no 
danger  of  crevices,  for  it  was  all  new  snow. 
[100] 


Mary  M.   Vaux,   W.  S.   Vaux,  and  G.    Vaux,  Jr. 

LAKE     o'hARA 

(Yoho  Park) 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 

"In  an  amazingly  short  time  a  descent  of  hmi- 
dreds  of  feet  had  been  made,  until  finally  the  bot- 
tom of  the  cliffs  was  reached.  Then  I  started 
across  and  down  that  long,  tedious  slope  of  snow 
and  boulders."  Finally  he  regained  the  fossil 
beds,  picked  up  his  belongings,  and  made  his  way 
back  to  Field  in  the  dark. 

To  climb  Mount  Stephen  alone,  and  in  Octo- 
ber, is  a  feat  that  would  be  considered  foolhardy 
by  any  mountaineer  less  capable  and  sure-headed 
than  George  Kinney.  Mr.  Kinney  has  since 
proved  his  mettle  on  a  much  more  formidable 
climb,  to  the  summit  of  the  monarch  of  the  Cana- 
dian Rockies,  Mount  Robson.  This,  however, 
will  stand  for  a  later  chapter. 

The  road  from  Stephen,  or  Hector,  down  to 
Field  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  one,  and 
worth  taking  in  as  leisurely  a  manner  as  possible, 
on  an  easy-going  pony,  or  better  still  on  foot. 
Leaving  Hector,  the  road  skirts  the  shores  of 
Wapta  Lake,  whose  waters  are  of  the  deepest 
blue;  Cataract  Creek  trail  here  leads  off  to  the 
south,  to  Lake  O'Hara  about  eight  miles  distant 
beyond  the  great  white  peak  of  Mount  Victoria; 
the  Cathedral  Crags  lie  directly  ahead  to  the 
west,  and  beneath  winds  the  wildly  impressive 
Canyon  of  the  Kicking  Horse.    As  the  road 

[101] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

drops  rapidly  down  the  valley,  one  is  lost  in 
amazement  at  the  temerity  of  the  engineers  who 
dared  to  carry  a  railway  through  this  seem- 
ingly impossible  gorge,  with  its  gradient  of 
nearly  200  feet  in  the  mile.  As  we  leave  the 
Canyon  behind.  Mount  Stephen  fills  the  view 
ahead,  with  Field  and  Wapta  to  the  right,  and 
the  beautiful  Yoho  Valley  opening  up  to  the 
north,  where  the  Wapta  icefield  and  Mount 
Habel  are  visible  in  the  distance. 

One  of  the  most  delightful  expeditions  in  Yoho 
Park  is  that  to  Lake  O'Hara  and  Lake  Mc Ar- 
thur. These  may  be  reached  either  from  Lag- 
gan  in  Rocky  Mountains  Park,  or  from  Field  in 
the  Yoho.  Outram  recommends  that  if  at  all 
possible  the  approach  should  be  made  from  Lag- 
gan  and  Lake  Louise,  by  way  of  Abbot  Pass, 
using  the  easier  but  less  picturesque  Cataract  trail 
for  the  return  journey.  This  makes  a  some- 
what strenuous  trip  for  those  who  may  not  be  ac- 
customed to  climbing,  but  otherwise  is  thor- 
oughly worth  the  extra  effort.  The  way  leads 
around  Lake  Louise,  and  over  the  Victoria 
Glacier  to  Abbot  Pass,  with  the  tremendous 
precipices  of  Lefroy  and  Victoria  frowning  down 
on  either  side.  From  the  glacier  the  way  to  the 
pass  is  up  a  steep,  narrow  gorge  known  as  the 

[102] 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 

Death  Trap  on  account  of  the  numerous  ava- 
lanches that  hurtle  down  from  the  mountain  tops. 
The  danger,  however,  is  more  apparent  than  real, 
and  nothing  has  ever  happened  to  justify  the  sin- 
ister name. 

From  the  summit  of  the  pass  the  view  is  one  of 
indescribable  grandeur,  a  wilderness  of  gigantic 
cliffs  far  and  near,  stretching  up  and  up  to  glit- 
tering summits.  Scrambling  down  the  steep 
descent.  Lake  Oesa  comes  into  view  far  below,  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Yukness.  Oesa  is  an  Indian 
word  meaning  Ice,  and  the  lake  has  been  appro- 
priately named  as,  on  account  of  its  elevation,  it 
is  frozen  over  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  and  never  quite  free  from  ice.  A  climb 
down  ledges  and  talus  slopes  brings  one  to  the 
little  lake,  and  from  here  the  first  glimpse  is 
caught  of  the  exquisitely  beautiful  Lake  O'Hara 
in  the  valley  far  below.  As  one  gets  nearer,  the 
loveliness  of  this  secluded  lake  grows,  and  is  all 
the  more  compelling  because  of  the  absolute  still- 
ness, no  chalet  or  carriages  or  boats  or  human 
interlopers  other  than  ourselves.  The  colouring 
is  as  perfect,  as  varied  and  as  utterly  beyond  de- 
scription as  that  of  Lake  Louise.  The  lake  is  an 
Alpine  gem,  in  whose  bright  surface  are  reflected 
the  green  of  the  forest  that  surrounds  its  shores, 

[103] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

and  the  mountains  that  enclose  it  on  either  side, 
the  huge  bulk  of  Mount  S  chaffer  and  the  curious 
pinnacles  of  the  Wiwaxy  Peaks.  A  couple  of 
miles  to  the  south-west,  and  reached  by  a  good 
trail,  is  Lake  McArthur,  another  mountain  tarn 
only  a  little  less  charming  than  Lake  O'Hara. 

If  one  has  only  a  limited  time  to  spend  in  the 
Park,  however,  unquestionably  it  should  be  de- 
voted to  the  Yoho  Valley,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
railway.  Several  good  roads  and  trails  now  lead 
to  the  valley  from  Field,  by  way  of  Emerald 
Lake,  Burgess  Pass  and  the  Yoho  River,  so  that 
the  visitor  has  a  choice  of  routes,  and  is  assured  of 
many  enchanting  views  both  going  and  coming. 

The  valley  was  explored  as  long  ago  as  1897 
by  Jean  Habel,  a  famous  German  mountaineer, 
who  spent  seventeen  days  there  and  returned  with 
such  enthusiastic  accounts  of  mountains,  lakes 
and  wonderful  waterfalls  that  it  was  determined 
to  make  the  valley  accessible  to  tourists.  A  trail 
was  commenced  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way in  1900,  and  since  the  organisation  of  the  dis- 
trict into  a  national  park  this  first  attempt  has 
been  extended  into  a  system  of  roads  and  trails 
giving  access  to  every  part  of  the  valley.  A  de- 
lightful drive  through  "aisles  of  stately  firs,"  and 
over  a  good  wagon  road,  brings  one  to  Emerald 

[104] 


Mary  M.   Vaux,   W.  S.   Vaux,  and  G.   Vaux,  Jr. 

TWIN     FALLS 


(Yoho  Valley) 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YOHO 

Lake,  where  the  Railway  Company,  with  its  cus- 
tomary thoughtfuhiess,  has  provided  a  comfort- 
able and  picturesque  chalet,  situated  on  a  wooded 
promontory.  The  lake,  says  Outram,  is  a  "gem 
of  perfect  beauty,  its  colouring  marvellously  rich 
and  vivid,  and  constantly  changing  under  the 
shifting  lights  and  shades."  In  its  surface  are 
mirrored  the  ramparts  and  precipices  of  Mount 
Wapta  and  Mount  Burgess  and  the  snowy  gla- 
ciers of  President  Mountain. 

From  Emerald  Lake,  the  road  winds  up  the 
valley,  with  ever  changing  views  of  the  mighty 
peaks  on  either  side.  We  are  waiting,  however, 
for  our  first  glimpse  of  the  glory  of  the  valley, 
Takakkaw  Falls,  remembering  the  meaning  of 
the  Indian  name,  "It  is  wonderful!"  Presently 
we  come  out  of  the  forest,  the  falls  are  before  us 
across  the  valley,  and  we  can  do  nothing  but  echo 
the  exclamation  of  the  Indians.  To  borrow 
again  from  Sir  James  Outram,  "the  torrent  issu- 
ing from  an  icy  cavern  rushes  tempestuously 
down  a  deep,  winding  chasm  till  it  gains  the  verge 
of  the  unbroken  cliff,  leaps  forth  in  sudden  wild- 
ness  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  then  in  a 
stupendous  column  of  pure  white  sparkling 
water,  broken  by  giant  jets  descending  rocket-like 
and  wreathed  in  volumed  spray,  dashes  upon 

[105] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  rocks  almost  a  thousand  feet  below,  and 
breaking  into  a  milky  series  of  cascading  rushes 
for  five  hundred  feet  more,  swirls  into  the  swift 
current  of  the  Yoho  River." 

Farther  up  the  valley  we  come  to  the  less  im- 
posing but  even  more  picturesque  Twin  Falls, 
and  the  appropriately  named  Laughing  Fall, 
where  the  Upper  Yoho  leaps  down  the  mountain 
side.  It  is  impossible  to  give  more  than  a  mere 
impression  of  the  charms  of  this  delightful  valley. 
It  would  indeed  be  difficult  to  find  anywhere  else 
a  more  perfect  grouping  of  the  elements  of 
Rocky  Mountain  scenery,  great  peaks  and 
glaciers,  stately  forests  and  meadows  carpeted 
with  wild-flowers,  rushing  streams,  lakes  of  the 
most  exquisite  colouring,  and  a  group  of  water- 
falls as  varied  in  character  as  they  are  all  strik- 
ingly beautiful. 


[106] 


VII 
AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 


VII 
AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

AS  we  leave  Field  behind,  and  slide 
rapidly  down  the  western  slope  of  the 
Rockies  to  the  Columbia  valley,  revel- 
ling in  the  ever-changing  panorama  of  stately 
peaks,  and  enjoying  it  all  from  a  comfortable 
arm-chair  in  the  observation  car,  it  is  interesting 
to  recall  the  very  different  journey  of  Sir  Sand- 
ford  Fleming  in  1883.  He  had  been  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  sur- 
veys from  1871  to  1880,  and  had  strongly  advo- 
cated the  Yellowhead  Pass  route  through  the 
mountains  in  preference  to  the  Kicking  Horse 
Pass.  His  judgment  has  since  been  vindicated 
by  the  selection  of  the  former  route  by  both  the 
new  Canadian  transcontinental  roads,  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  and  the  Canadian  Northern. 

When  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  was  taken 
over  from  the  Dominion  Government  by  a  syndi- 
cate, it  was  decided  to  build  through  the  Kicking 
Horse.     In  1883  the  rails  had  been  laid  as  far  as 

[109] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Calgary,  at  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  moun- 
tains, actually  before  there  was  any  certainty  that 
it  would  be  possible  to  get  through  by  the  south- 
ern route.  The  Kicking  Horse  Pass  was 
believed  to  be  feasible  though  presenting  many 
serious  engineering  difficulties,  but  that  only 
took  them  through  the  main  range.  There  were 
still  the  Selkirks  and  the  Gold  Range  to  cross,  be- 
fore they  could  reach  Kamloops  on  the  North 
Thompson  River,  beyond  which  the  route  had 
been  selected  and  the  rails  partly  laid ;  but  all  the 
information  the  Company  then  had  was  a  vague 
report  that  a  route  might  be  found  over  the 
former  by  Rogers  Pass  and  over  the  latter  by 
Eagle  Pass.     Very  little  was  known  of  either. 

The  directors  of  the  Company  were  between 
the  horns  of  a  dilemma.  If  they  went  ahead, 
they  might  find  themselves  stranded  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Selkirks.  On  the  other  hand,  to 
abandon  the  route  would  mean  the  loss  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars  already  expended  in  bringing  the 
rails  to  Calgary.  In  their  difficulty  they  sent  for 
Fleming,  and  asked  him  to  go  over  the  ground 
between  Calgary  and  Kamloops  and  let  them 
know  if  the  railway  could  be  taken  through  the 
three  ranges,  the  Rockies,  Selkirks  and  Gold 
Range.     One  can  imagine  the  famous  engineer 

[110] 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

chuckling  over  the  situation.  He  had  recom- 
mended the  Yellowhead  route;  his  advice  had 
been  rejected;  and  now  the  advocates  of  the  rival 
Kicking  Horse  route  were  compelled  to  fall  back 
upon  him,  to  beg  him  of  all  men  to  demonstrate 
the  practicability  of  the  southern  route.  He  ac- 
cepted the  commission,  went  over  the  route  thor- 
oughly, and  was  able  to  report  that  the  railway 
could  be  taken  through  from  Calgary  to  Kam- 
loops.  What  he  saw,  however,  was  very  far 
from  shaking  his  former  opinion  that  the  Yel- 
lowhead Pass  route  was  preferable  in  every  way 
to  that  by  the  Kicking  Horse. 

This  is  merely  introductory  to  a  paragraph 
or  two  from  Sir  Sandford  Fleming's  account  of 
his  journey  through  the  mountains  in  1883 — 
something  to  ponder  over  as  we  rush  down  the 
same  wild  valley  in  our  luxurious  observation 
car. 

Fleming  had  left  the  railway  at  Calgary,  and 
with  ponies  and  pack-horses  had  slowly  forced  his 
way  to  the  summit  of  the  main  range,  and  was 
now  climbing  down  the  valley  of  the  Kicking 
Horse  to  the  Columbia.  We  pick  him  up  one 
morning,  somewhere  about  the  western  bound- 
ary of  what  is  now  Yoho  Park. 

"The  mist  hangs  like  a  thick  curtain,  conceal- 

[111] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

ing  everything  not  directly  near  the  camp-fire. 
But  we  start;  the  six  pack-horses  in  front  with 
their  loads  standing  out  from  their  backs,  giving 
the  creatures  the  appearance  of  so  many  drome- 
daries. Dave  rides  ahead  with  the  bell-horse, 
then  the  pack-horses  follow,  and  the  horsemen 
bring  up  the  rear  to  see  that  none  stray  behind. 
Our  journey  this  day  is  over  exceedingly  rough 
ground.  We  have  to  cross  gorges  so  narrow 
that  a  biscuit  might  be  thrown  from  the  last  horse 
descending  to  the  bell-horse  six  hundred  feeit 
ahead,  ascending  the  opposite  side. 

"The  fires  have  been  running  through  the  wood 
and  are  still  burning;  many  of  the  half -burnt 
trees  have  been  blown  down  by  last  night's  gale, 
obstructing  the  trail  and  making  advance  ex- 
tremely difllcult.  .  .  .  Fortunately  there  is  no 
wind.  The  air  is  still  and  quiet,  otherwise  we 
would  run  the  risk  of  blackened  trunks  fall- 
ing around  us,  possibly  upon  the  animals  or  our- 
selves, even  at  the  best  seriously  to  have  impeded 
our  progress,  if  such  a  mischance  did  not  make  an 
advance  impossible  until  the  wind  should  moder- 
ate. 

"We  move  forward  down  and  up  gorges  hun- 
dreds of  feet  deep,  amongst  rocky  masses  where 
the  poor  horses  have  to  clamber  as  best  they  can 

[112] 


Mary  M.  Vaux,  W.  S.  Vaux,  and  (!.  I'dux,  Jr. 

MOUNT  SIR  DONALD  AND  ILLECILLEWAET  GLACIER 


Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 

A     BIT     OF     THE     ILLECILLEWAET 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

amid  sharp  points  and  deep  crevices,  running  the 
constant  risk  of  a  broken  leg.  The  trail  now 
takes  another  character.  A  series  of  precipices 
run  sheer  up  from  the  boiling  current  to  form  a 
contracted  canyon.  A  path  has  therefore  been 
traced  along  the  hill  side,  ascending  to  the  eleva- 
tion of  some  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet.  For  a 
long  distance  not  a  vestige  of  vegetation  is  to  be 
seen.  On  the  steep  accUvity  our  line  of  advance 
is  narrow,  so  narrow  that  there  is  scarcely  a  foot- 
hold; nevertheless  we  have  to  follow  for  some  six 
miles  this  thread  of  trail,  which  seemed  to  us  by 
no  means  in  excess  of  the  requirements  of  the 
chamois  and  the  mountain  goat. 

"We  cross  clay,  rock  and  gravel  shdes  at  a 
giddy  height.  To  look  down  gives  one  an  uncon- 
trollable dizziness,  to  make  the  "head  swim  and 
the  view  unsteady,  even  with  men  of  tried  nerves. 
I  do  not  think  that  I  can  ever  forget  that  terrible 
walk.  We  are  from  five  to  eight  hundred  feet 
high  on  a  path  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  inches  wide 
and  at  some  points  almost  obliterated,  with  slopes 
above  and  below  us  so  steep  that  a  stone  would 
roll  into  the  torrent  in  the  abyss  below." 

A  few  miles  more,  and  Fleming  emerged  from 
the  valley  of  the  Kicking  Horse  and  stood  on  the 
banks  of  the  Columbia,  with  the  mighty  walls  of 

[113] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  Rockies  and  Selkirks  towering  above  him  to 
the  east  and  to  the  west.  His  way  through  the 
Selkirks  was  by  the  same  route  that  we  now  fol- 
low on  the  railway,  and  it  brought  him  in  time  to 
the  summit  of  Rogers  Pass,  and  the  first  sight  of 
the  since  famous  lUecillewaet  Glacier.  As  we 
follow  in  his  footsteps,  we  find  ourselves  enter- 
ing the  third  great  National  Park  of  Canada — 
appropriately  named  Glacier  Park,  for  from  any 
one  of  its  great  peaks  one  may  count  a  score  of 
these  wonderful  ice  rivers. 

The  Selkirk  Range  strikes  even  the  unobserv- 
ant traveller  as  markedly  different  from  the 
main  range  of  the  Rockies.  The  colouring  of 
the  rocks  is  more  varied  and  less  sombre;  the 
valleys  are  deeper  and  clothed  with  dense  forests 
of  gigantic  evergreens,  cedar,  spruce,  hemlock, 
Douglas  fir,  and  up  near  the  extreme  limit  of 
vegetation  the  beautiful  Lyall's  larch;  and  the 
snowfall  is  very  much  heavier  than  in  the  more 
easterly  range.  From  its  geographical  position 
the  Selkirk  Range  intercepts  a  large  percentage 
of  the  moisture  borne  inland  from  the  Pacific, 
which  would  otherwise  reach  the  Rockies,  and 
this  with  the  deep  valleys  has  resulted  in  a  vege- 
tation that  is  almost  tropical  in  its  luxuriance, 
and  infinite  in  its  variety,  something  over  five 

[114] 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

hundred  different  flowers  alone  having  been  dis- 
covered in  Glacier  Park. 

Geologists  tell  us  that  the  Selkirks  are  very 
much  older  than  the  main  range,  that  in  fact  they 
were  hoary  with  antiquity  when  as  the  result  of 
some  vast  convulsion  of  nature  the  Rockies  were 
bom.  The  brilliantly  coloured  quartzites  of  the 
Selkirks  belong  to  an  age  so  remote  that  the  mere 
thought  of  it  is  enough  to  make  one's  head  reel. 
In  their  day  they  looked  out  to  the  eastward  upon 
a  great  sea,  covering  what  are  to-day  vast  fertile 
plains,  and  the  sea  washed  over  the  place  where 
the  giants  of  the  Rockies  now  hft  their  snowy 
heads  proudly  into  the  heavens. 

Compared  with  Rocky  Mountain  Park, 
Glacier  Park  is  a  comparatively  small  reserva- 
tion, covering  an  area  of  468  square  miles,  but 
any  one  capable  of  appreciating  the  glories  of 
mountain  scenery,  the  great  valleys  with  their 
picturesque  torrents  and  waterfalls  and  riotous 
vegetation;  the  upper  slopes  with  their  bewilder- 
ing array  of  alpine  flowers,  dryas,  anemones  and 
mountain  Hlies,  red  and  white  heather,  glowing 
masses  of  painter's-brush,  yellow  and  purple 
asters,  blue  gentians  and  yellow  columbines,  deli- 
cate moss  campion  and  the  dear  little  forget-me- 
not;  the  dizzy  precipices  and  dazzling  glaciers; 

[115] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

and  the  conquered  summits  with  their  glorious 
outlook  over  a  world  of  indescribable  wildness 
and  grandeur, — ^will  find  here  a  region  of  per- 
petual delight,  where  he  may  roam  afield  for 
weeks  each  day  on  an  entirely  new  trail. 

Although  the  park  as  a  park  did  not  exist  until 
long  after  his  visit,  and  good  roads  and  trails  now 
take  the  place  of  the  rough  paths  he  had  to  fol- 
low, William  Spotswood  Green's  Among  'the 
Selkirk  Glaciers,  is  still  the  most  satisfactory 
and  entertaining  introduction  that  one  can  find, 
or  wish  for,  to  this  mountain  playground. 
Green  came  to  the  Selkirks  in  1888,  after  years 
of  delightful  experience  in  the  Alps  and  the  great 
mountains  of  New  Zealand.  He  left  with  the 
conviction  that  he  had  seen  nothing  elsewhere 
more  impressive  or  more  fascinating  than  these 
mountains  of  British  Columbia.  "Dark  green 
forest,  rushing  streams,  purple  peaks,  silvery  ice, 
a  cloudless  sky,  and  a  most  transparent  atmos- 
phere," he  says,  "all  combine  to  form  a  perfect 
Alpine  paradise." 

One  of  his  first  visits  was  to  the  lUecillewaet 
Glacier,  which  then  entailed  a  slow  and  more  or 
less  painful  scramble  through  a  wilderness  of 
fallen  timber,  tangled  thickets  of  alder  scrub, 
and  the  appropriately  named  devil's  club.     To- 

[116] 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

day  one  reaches  the  foot  of  the  glacier  by  way  of 
a  delightful  and  well-kept  trail  through  the  for- 
est, the  trail  starting  from  the  doors  of  Glacier 
House,  the  large  and  comfortable  hotel  main- 
tained by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  park. 

On  the  way  he  had  an  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing the  tremendous  destructive  power  of  ava- 
lanches. "The  hemlock,  balsam,  and  Douglas 
firs,  though  as  stout  as  ships'  masts,  had  been 
snapped  off  close  to  their  roots;  some  were  torn 
up  and  driven  long  distances*  from  where  they 
grew,  and  lay  in  heaps,  but  the  general  position 
of  the  trunks  pointed  distinctly  to  the  direction 
from  which  the  destroying  avalanche  had  come. 
Even  the  boulders  of  the  moraine  showed  signs 
of  having  been  shifted,  some  of  them  huge 
blocks  of  quartzite,  one  I  measured  50  X 
33  X  24  feet.  No  better  illustration  could 
be  presented  of  the  overwhelming  power  of  an 
avalanche,  though  composed  of  nothing  else  than 
the  accumulation  of  a  winter's  snow." 

On  this  or  another  expedition.  Green  was  in- 
troduced to  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  Indian  pony 
or  cayuse.  One  had  been  taken  as  a  pack  horse, 
and  picked  his  way  demurely  along  the  trail  for 
some  time,  with  that  air  of  meek  innocence  which 

{117] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

always  imposes  upon  the  tenderfoot.  Suddenly, 
without  a  moment's  warning,  and  for  no  ap- 
parent reason,  he  was  "seized  with  a  paroxysm 
of  buck-jumping;  the  packs  flew  off,  he  rolled 
down  through  the  ferns  and  rocks,  and  then,  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  his  performance,  stood  pa- 
tiently while  we  restored  our  goods  on  his  back." 
The  incident  will  bring  back  many  similar  experi- 
ences to  those  who  have  camped  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  One  is  almost  tempted  to  chuckle 
over  Green's  bewilderment.  It  is  generally 
found  that  there  is  reason  in  the  pony's  madness. 
When  he  runs  unexpectedly  into  a  hornet's  nest, 
the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  is  to  get  away 
from  it  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  as  a  rule  the 
quickest  way  is  to  roll  down  hill. 

Exasperating  as  the  cayuse  can  be  on  many  oc- 
casions, no  one  who  has  any  sense  of  humour  or 
any  appreciation  of  animal  intelligence  can  fail 
in  time  to  grow  very  fond  of  a  horse  that  has  been 
his  companion  on  many  wild  mountain  trails,  that 
has  carried  him  safely  through  raging  torrents, 
and  sometimes  shared  his  meal  beside  the  camp 
fire.  A  good  pony  will  follow  unerringly  a  trail 
that  is  indistinguishable  to  even  an  experienced 
guide;  he  will  carry  an  able-bodied  man,  or  a 
much  heavier  pack,  all  day  over  a  trail  that  would 

[118] 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

kill  an  eastern  horse;  he  will  pick  his  way  through 
a  tangle  of  fallen  timber  with  an  instinct  that  is 
almost  uncanny;  and  he  will  do  all  this  on  the  un- 
certain feed  of  mountain  camps.  He  is  a  true 
philosopher,  a  creature  of  shrewd  common  sense, 
pluck,  endurance,  and  rare  humour,  a  good  fel- 
low, and  a  rare  friend. 

Green  made  the  first  attempt  to  scale  Mount 
Sir  Donald,  the  splendid  peak  that  almost  over- 
shadows Glacier  House.  He  selected  what 
proved  to  be  an  impracticable  route,  and  was 
forced  to  return  without  reaching  the  summit. 
The  mountain  has  since  been  repeatedly  climbed, 
and  is  now  with  Mount  Stephen  in  the  Rockies 
the  most  popular  peak  for  mountain-climbers  in 
the  Canadian  parks.  Thanks  to  the  Swiss 
guides  who  are  stationed  here  throughout  the 
season,  any  one  of  reasonable  endurance  and  with 
a  head  for  dizzy  heights  or  depths,  can  now  make 
his  way  to  the  summit  of  Sir  Donald,  10,808  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  be  rewarded  with  a  view  that 
will  more  than  compensate  him  for  the  fatigue. 

Although  mountain-climbing  in  the  Canadian 
Rockies  has  been  singularly  free  from  accidents, 
there  have  of  course  occasionally  been  narrow  es- 
capes, and  one  of  these  is  graphically  described 
in  Among  the  Selkirk  Glaciers.    Green  and  a 

[119] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

companion  had  climbed  to  the  smnmit  of  Mount 
Bonney,  a  great  peak  some  miles  west  of  Sir 
Donald,  and  were  returning,  when  they  made  the 
usual  mistake  of  trying  a  short  cut  to  avoid  a  tedi- 
ous piece  of  climbing.  There  seemed  to  be  a  way 
down  a  very  steep  snow  slope,  and  Green  went 
ahead  on  the  rope  to  test  it,  while  his  companion 
anchored  himself  as  firmly  as  possible  in  the  snow 
above.  They  were  of  course  "roped"  in  the  usual 
mountaineering  fashion. 

"I  turned  my  face  to  the  slope,"  says  Green, 
"and  holding  on  to  the  rope  kicked  my  toes  in 
and  went  over  the  brink.  I  took  the  precaution, 
too,  of  burying  my  axe  up  to  its  head  at  every 
step.  Just  below  the  brink  there  was  a  project- 
ing crag.  This  I  thought  would  give  a  firm  foot- 
ing before  testing  the  snow  slope.  I  got  one  foot 
on  to  it  and  was  taking  it  as  gently  as  possible 
when  the  rock  gave  way,  a  large  piece  of  snow 
went  with  it  and  fell  on  the  slope  twenty  feet  be- 
low. 

"I  stuck  my  knees  into  the  snow,  but  felt  my 
whole  weight  was  on  the  rope.  Then  I  heard  a 
swishing  noise  in  the  air,  and  glancing  down- 
wards saw  that  the  whole  snow  slope  had  cracked 
across  and  was  starting  away  down  towards  the 
valley  in  one  huge  avalanche.     H.  hauled  cau- 

[120] 


A.  Knechtel 


THE     HIGH     FRONTIER     OF     BRITISH     COLUMBIA 


A.  0    Wheeler 


ON    THE    SUMMIT    OF    SIB    DONALD 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

tiously  but  firmly  on  the  rope,  and  getting  what 
grip  I  could  with  toes,  knees  and  ice-axe  I  was 
quickly  in  a  safe  position,  and  the  two  of  us  stand- 
ing side  by  side  watched  the  clouds  of  snow  fill- 
ing the  abyss  below  and  the  huge  masses  boimd- 
ing  outwards.  We  listened  to  the  sullen  roar 
which  gradually  subsided  and  all  again  was 
quiet." 

It  was  probably  this  same  stout  rope  by  which 
Green  pulled  himself  back  to  safety,  of  which  he 
elsewhere  gives  the  history,  quite  an  eventful  one, 
though  sadly  ignoble  in  its  latter  days.  "Its  first 
good  work  was  to  save  the  lives  of  some  of  our 
party  in  a  bad  shp,  near  the  summit  of  the  Balm- 
horn  on  the  Bernese  Overland.  It  was  next 
used  as  the  mizzen  topping-lift  of  a  fifteen-ton 
yawl.  It  was  my  tent-rope  in  the  New  Zealand 
Alps.  It  was  the  bridle  used  on  a  deep-sea  trawl 
that  went  down  to  1000  fathoms  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  the  Atlantic.  It  trained  a  colt.  Now  it 
was  in  our  diamond  hitch;  and  I  regret  to  say 
that  its  old  age  was  disgraced  by  its  being  used 
for  cording  one  of  my  boxes  on  the  voyage 
home." 

Compared  with  Rocky  Mountains  Park  and 
Yoho  Park,  Glacier  Park  at  present  is  somewhat 
deficient  in  roads  and  trails,  those  that  have  been 

[121] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

opened  all  radiating  from  headquarters  and  ex- 
tending not  more  than  six  or  eight  miles  in  any 
direction.  This,  however,  will  be  remedied  in  a 
few  years,  the  park  being  still  very  yoimg,  and 
in  the  meantime  it  is  not  an  mmiixed  evil  to  those 
who  care  to  get  off  the  beaten  track.  Old 
Indian  trails  follow  all  the  rivers  and  creeks 
throughout  the  park,  and  though  these  will  be 
more  or  less  obliterated  and  blocked  with  fallen 
timber,  a  competent  guide  can  always  be  relied 
upon  to  take  you  to  any  corner  of  the  park,  and 
when  you  have  found  a  good  camping  ground, 
with  feed  for  the  horses,  a  sparkling  stream  at 
your  feet,  and  a  circle  of  noble  peaks  smiling 
down  upon  you,  you  will,  if  you  are  the  right 
sort,  thank  your  stars  that  railways  and  hotels 
and  roads  lie  far  away  in  another  world  beyond 
the  mountains.  To  really  enjoy  this  sensation  of 
out-of-the-worldness,  however,  you  must  have 
brought  with  you  a  sufficient  supply  of  worldly 
eatables. 

Of  the  available  trails,  one  leads  up  to  Rogers 
Pass,  at  the  summit  of  the  Selkirks,  with  Mount 
Macdonald  on  one  side  and  Mount  Tupper  on  the 
other.  These  two  great  peaks  were  named 
after  the  famous  Canadian  statesmen,  Sir  John 
Macdonald  and  Sir  Charles  Tupper.     The  latter, 

[122] 


AROUND  THE  ILLECILLEWAET 

after  watching  the  growth  of  Canada  from  a 
group  of  weak  and  scattered  colonies  to  a  strong 
and  ambitious  Dominion,  is  still  ahve  in  England 
in  his  ninety-third  year. 

In  the  opposite  direction,  good  trails  lead  to 
the  lUecillewaet  Glacier,  and  to  Asulkan  Pass 
and  the  Asulkan  Glacier,  from  which  it  is  pos- 
sible to  reach  a  group  of  magnificent  peaks. 
Castor  and  Pollux,  The  Dome,  Clarke,  Swanzy, 
and  a  little  farther  to  the  west  Bonney  and 
Smart.  On  the  opposite  side  lies  the  vast  lUecil- 
lewaet snow-field. 

From  Glacier  House,  again,  a  good  carriage 
road  takes  you  west  parallel  with  the  railway  and 
the  lUecillewaet  River,  towards  Cougar  Moun- 
tain and  Ross  Peak.  Eventually  this  will  be  ex- 
tended to  the  Nakimu  Caves.  At  present  a  trail 
follows  the  same  route  to  the  Caves,  and  around 
Mount  Cheops  to  Rogers  Pass,  thus  providing  a 
round  trip,  from  Glacier  House  to  the  Caves, 
thence  to  Rogers  Pass,  and  back  to  Glacier 
House  again. 

The  Nakimu  Caves  were  discovered  accident- 
ally some  nine  years  ago,  and  are  said  to  be  well 
worth  visiting.  They  are  in  charge  of  C.  H. 
Deutschmann,  who  discovered  and  explored 
them,  and  thanks  to  his  competent  guidance  and 

[123] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  facilities  that  have  been  provided  it  is  now 
possible  for  any  one  to  visit  and  examine  this 
curious  freak  of  nature.  It  will  be  more  con- 
venient to  describe  the  Caves  in  another  chapter. 
Those  who  would  really  wish  to  know  the  char- 
acter, extent  and  variety  of  the  scenery  in 
Glacier  Park  and  the  great  mountain  range  of 
which  it  is  only  a  small  part,  are  recommended  to 
consult  A.  O.  Wheeler's  delightful  guide-book. 
The  Selkirk  Mountains,  and  the  same  author's 
exhaustive  work  published  by  the  Dominion  Gov- 
ernment, The  Selkirk  Range,  These  are  not 
only  readable  and  authoritative,  but  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Green's  Among  the  Selkirk  Glaciers j 
they  are  the  only  books  available  on  this  very  im- 
portant region.* 

I  Since  the  above  was  written  Howard  Palmer's  Moimtaineer- 
inff  and  Exploration  in  the  Selkirks  has  been  published,  making  a 
very  important  addition  to  the  scanty  literature  on  the  subject. 


[124] 


VIII 
THE  CAVES  OF  NAKIMU 


VIII 
THE  CAVES  OF  NAKIMU 

THE  traveller  who  for  the  sake  of  con- 
trast or  variety  desires  to  enjoy  a  sen- 
sation as  different  as  possible  from  the 
glorious  panorama  of  momitain  and  vaUey,  lake 
and  waterfall,  rich  in  colouring,  instinct  with  the 
life-giving  qualities  of  sun  and  air,  cannot  do  bet- 
ter than  spend  an  afternoon  in  the  Caves  of  Na- 
kimu.  It  will  be  to  him  as  though  he  were  trans- 
ported from  the  domains  of  the  Upper  Gods  to 
the  gloomy  realm  of  Pluto.  Under  the  guard- 
ianship of  C.  H.  Deutschmann,  the  official  guide, 
whose  cabin  stands  across  a  small  ravine  from  the 
visitor's  camp,  the  caves  may  be  explored  with 
safety  and  a  reasonable  degree  of  comfort.  The 
facilities  for  getting  about  the  caves  and  under- 
ground passages  is  still  rather  primitive,  but  suf- 
ficient to  ensure  the  safety  of  visitors,  and  you 
have  the  advantage  of  seeing  everything  in  its 
natural  state.  One  can  appreciate  the  hardihood 
of  Deutschmann,  who  alone,  and  with  nothing 
but  tallow  candles,  explored  caves  and  potholes 

[127] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

and  corridors.  As  Mr.  Wheeler  has  said,  "Added 
to  the  thick  darkness,  there  was  always  the  fierce, 
vibrating  roar  of  subterranean  torrents,  a  sound 
most  nerve-shaking  in  a  position  sufficiently  un- 
canny without  it.  Huge  cracks  had  to  be  crossed 
and  precipitous  descents  made  in  pitch  darkness, 
where  a  misstep  meant  death  or  disablement." 

The  caves  extend  into  the  south  slopes  of 
Mount  Ursus  Major  and  Mount  Cheops  and  into 
the  north  slopes  of  Cougar  Mountain.  The  rock 
out  of  which  the  caves  have  been  carved,  by  Na- 
ture's patient  craftsmen,  is  described  as  a 
"marbleized  limestone,  varying  in  colour  from 
very  dark  blue,  almost  black,  shot  with  ribbons  of 
calcite,  through  varying  shades  of  grey  to  almost 
white."  There  are  no  stalactites  or  stalagmites 
worth  mentioning. 

The  caves  are  in  three  sections,  known  as  the 
Gopher  Bridge,  Mill  Bridge,  and  the  Gorge. 
The  following  description  is  taken  from  Arthur 
O.  Wheeler's  account  of  his  survey  in  1905. 

The  Gopher  Bridge  caves  are  approached  by 
two  openings,  one  known  as  the  Old  Entrance, 
the  other  as  the  New  Entrance.  Mr.  Wheeler 
used  the  former  in  his  visit,  and  took  his  observa- 
tion by  the  Hght  of  gas  lamps  and  magnesium 
wire.    Not  far  from  the  entrance  he  came  to  a 

[128] 


Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company 

THE    WEIRD    CAVES     OF     NAKIMU 


THE  CAVES  OF  NAKIMU 

place  where  the  passage  dropped  suddenly  into 
space.  "Standing  on  a  ledge  that  overhangs  a 
hlack  abyss,"  he  says,  "the  eye  is  first  drawn  by  a 
subterranean  waterfall  heard  roaring  immedi- 
ately on  the  left.  It  appears  to  pour  from  a  dark 
opening  above  it.  Below,  between  black  walls 
of  rock,  may  be  seen  the  foam-flecked  torrent 
hurtling  down  the  incline  until  lost  in  dense 
shadows.  Overhead,  fantastic  spurs  and  shapes 
reach  out  into  the  blackness,  and  the  entire  sur- 
roundings are  so  weird  and  uncanny  that  it  is 
easy  to  imagine  Dante  seated  upon  one  of  these 
spurs  deriving  impressions  for  his  Inferno.  As 
the  brilliant  light  gives  out,  the  thick  darkness 
makes  itself  felt,  and  instinctively  you  feel  to  see 
if  Charon  is  not  standing  beside  you.  This  sub- 
terranean stream  with  its  unearthly  surroundings 
is  suggestive  of  the  Styx  and  incidentally  sup- 
plied the  name  Avemus  for  the  cavern  of  the 
waterfall."  The  Cavern  of  Avemus  is  reached 
by  the  New  Entrance,  through  a  small  passage. 

Cougar  Brook  emerges  from  the  Gopher 
Bridge  caves  4i50  feet  down  the  valley,  and  after 
pouring  down  a  rock-cut  known  as  the  Flume, 
disappears  into  the  Mill  Bridge  caves.  The  en- 
trance is  some  thirty  feet  to  the  east,  through  a 
cleft  in  the  rock.    A  passageway  of  400  feet 

[129] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

leads  to  an  irregularly  shaped  chamber  known  as 
the  Auditorium,  through  which  Cougar  Brook 
roars  its  way.  "Faint  daylight  enters  through 
the  passageway  of  the  waters,  making  the  place 
look  dim  and  mysterious."  The  passageway  is 
broken  at  intervals  by  potholes,  ten  or  fifteen  feet 
deep,  necessitating  a  series  of  rough  ladders,  and 
in  one  case  a  floating  bridge  as  the  pothole  is  half 
filled  with  water. 

Emerging  from  the  Mill  Bridge  caves,  the 
brook  runs  for  300  feet  through  a  deep  gorge 
spanned  by  two  natural  bridges,  and  then  enters 
the  third  series  of  caves.  Creeping  down  a  long 
passageway,  with  the  dull  roar  of  the  stream  ever 
in  your  ears,  you  come  to  a  sharp  descent  of 
twelve  feet  with  natural  footholds,  but  persons 
unaccustomed  to  climbing  are  advised  to  use  a 
rope  to  steady  the  descent.  "Here  the  brook  is 
heard  far  down  rushing  through  some  rock-cut 
with  a  dull  intermittent  pounding  like  the  blows 
of  a  giant  sledge-hanmier." 

A  passage  to  the  right  brings  you  to  the 
Dropping  Cave,  with  walls  and  ceiling  of  dark 
blue  limestone  streaked  with  white  calcite,  and 
water  dropping  everywhere  from  the  roof. 
From  the  eastern  end  of  this  cave  a  narrow  pas- 
sage leads  to  the  Witch's  Ball  Room,  a  triangular 

[130] 


THE  CAVES  OF  NAKIMU 

cavern  whose  floor  is  broken  by  deep  cracks 
"leading  down  to  where  the  underground  stream 
roars  threateningly."  Beyond  this  are  several 
other  passages  and  smaller  chambers,  the  farthest 
known  as  the  Pit. 

Another  entrance  to  the  Gorge  caves,  known  as 
Entrance  No.  3,  leads  first  to  a  small  cavern, 
reached  by  a  ladder  from  above.  A  very  narrow 
passage,  which  must  be  negotiated  by  means  of  a 
rope,  brings  you  to  a  ledge  overlooking  a  sheer 
drop  of  sixty  feet. 

From  one  of  the  passages  leading  to  the  Pit, 
a  cavern  is  reached,  named  the  Turbine,  owing  to 
the  noise  from  waterspouts  resembling  the  sound 
of  water  falling  into  the  pit  of  a  turbine.  Far- 
ther on  is  the  Art  Gallery,  so  called  from  the 
^'florescent  designs  of  overlying  carbonate  of 
lime,  in  colour  from  cream  to  delicate  salmon." 

Beyond  the  Art  Gallery,  a  long  passage  brings 
you  to  a  narrow  twisted  opening  named  the  Gim- 
let, and  to  two  ancient  potholes  leading  to  un- 
known depths,  and  "profusely  ornamented  with 
florescent  incrustation."  One  of  these  is  named 
the  Dome,  from  its  perfect  form.  A  passage 
from  the  other  leads  to  the  Judgment  Hall. 

In  this  section  of  the  Gorge  Caves  the  subter- 
ranean river  crosses  the  main  passage  some  depth 

[181] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

below,  and  its  roar  is  now  heard  from  the  right 
side.  A  narrow  opening  leads  to  the  Carbonate 
Grotto  which  has  some  fine  floral  designs.  An- 
other passage  of  130  feet  brings  you  to  a  crack 
in  the  wall,  from  which  a  descent  of  57  feet  leads 
to  the  Judgment  Hall  mentioned  before.  This 
is  the  largest  of  the  caves,  200  feet  wide  and 
from  40  to  50  feet  high. 

From  the  Judgment  Hall,  other  passages  lead 
to  the  White  Grotto,  so  named  from  the  beauty 
and  delicacy  of  its  ornamentations;  and  the 
Bridal  Chamber,  also  covered  with  floral  de- 
signs. 

The  Caves  of  Nakimu  are  of  peculiar  interest 
to  the  geologist,  as  the  limestone  of  which  they  are 
composed  is  rare  in  the  Selkirks.  The  subter- 
ranean stream  which  forms  the  principal  fea- 
ture of  the  caves  is  also  a  rare  phenomenon 
either  in  the  Rockies  or  Selkirks.  There  is  some 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  origin  of  the  caves. 
The  passageways  are  unquestionably  due  in  a 
measure  to  water-erosion,  but  Mr.  Wheeler, 
who  has  given  the  matter  much  study,  is  con- 
vinced that  a  more  potent  agency  has  been  at 
work.  "It  is  not  unreasonable  to  assume,"  he 
says,  "that  a  seismic  disturbance  once  shattered 
this  bed  of  crystalHne  limestone  and  precipitated 

[132] 


THE  CAVES  OF  NAKIMU 

Cougar  Creek  into  subterranean  channels  which 
the  water  and  time  have  enlarged  to  their  pres- 
ent size;  moreover,  that  subsequent  shocks  are 
responsible  for  the  large  quantities  of  debris  that 
litter  their  floors.  This  hypothesis  would  ex- 
plain the  crack  of  the  Gorge  and  similar  chasms 
beneath  the  surface." 


[133] 


IX 

MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING  AND 
CLIMBERS 


IX 

MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING  AND 
CLIMBERS 

SOME  of  the  most  notable  exploits  in 
mountain-climbing  in  the  Canadian 
Rockies  have  been  by  officers  of  the 
Dominion  Government,  such  as  J.  J.  McArthur 
and  A.  O.  Wheeler,  merely  as  incidents  to  their 
serious  work  of  topographical  surveying.  The 
advent  of  the  mountaineer  as  such,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  the  region  as  a  mountaineer's  par- 
adise, dates  from  the  visit  of  William  Spots- 
wood  Green  in  1888.  Probably  his  book,  which 
appeared  two  years  later,  did  as  much  as  any- 
thing else  to  bring  others  to  the  Canadian  moun- 
tains. At  any  rate,  in  1890,  members  of  the 
English  and  Swiss  Alpine  Clubs,  and  the  Ap- 
palachian Mountain  Club  of  Boston,  visited  the 
Selkirks,  and  returned  with  enthusiastic  accounts 
of  the  new  field  available  to  moimtain  clim- 
bers. 

The  visit  of  Professor  Charles  E.  Fay,  of  the 
Appalachian  Club,  led  to  the  formation  of  an 

[137] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Alpine  section  of  that  club,  and  later  to  the  or- 
ganisation of  the  American  Alpine  Club.  The 
Alpine  Club  of  Canada  came  into  being  in  1906, 
and  since  that  date,  under  the  notable  leadership 
of  A.  O.  Wheeler,  has  rapidly  gained  strength 
and  influence,  drawing  into  its  fold  an  ever-in- 
creasing number  of  those  who  find  keen  pleas- 
ure and  a  widening  and  strengthening  of  all 
their  faculties  in  the  splendid  sport  of  moimtain- 
climbing,  or  in  the  mere  dwelling  from  day  to 
day  in  the  companionship  of  some  of  the  most 
noble  works  of  Nature. 

The  earlier  explorations  of  mountain-climbers, 
following  that  of  Green,  were  confined  pretty 
well  to  the  Selkirks,  but  as  interest  spread  the 
great  peaks  of  the  main  range  were  attempted, 
and  one  after  another  succumbed  to  the  attacks 
of  such  notable  climbers  as  Outram,  Fay  and 
Parker;  Collie,  Stutfield  and  Woolley;  Abbott, 
Eggers,  Weed  and  Thompson,  and  the  prince 
of  all  mountaui-climbers,  Whymper.  A  brief 
account  will  now  be  given  of  some  of  these 
ascents  in  the  Rockies,  leaving  the  Selkirks  to 
another  chapter. 

Dr.  Fay  made  an  attempt  upon  Mount  Good- 
sir  in  1901,  with  Outram  and  Scattergood,  and 
the  veteran  Swiss  guide  Christian  Hasler,  but 

[138] 


1 

•^ 

oar                   .<aS 

*3 

! 
I 

'"UH 

y 

MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

owing  to  the  exceptionally  dangerous  condition 
of  the  snow  near  the  summit  the  party  were 
forced  to  turn  back  at  the;  foot  of  the  final  peak. 
Two  years  later  this  superb-  peak  of  the  Otter- 
tail  Range  was  again  attacked  by  Dr.  Fay,  ac- 
companied this  time  by  Professor  Parker,  and 
the  guides  Christian  Kaufmann  and  Hasler. 
Dr.  Fay  has  described  both  climbs  in  the  Cana- 
dian Alpine  Journaly  1907,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing account  is  taken. 

The  party  camped  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
in  1901,  and  set  out  at  daybreak  the  following 
morning.  A  stiff  climb  brought  them  to  the  base 
of  a  steep  cliff  beyond  which  rose  the  final  peak. 
"Before  us,"  says  Dr.  Fay,  "rose  this  beetling 
face  of  dark  rock,  with  little  snow  patches  here 
and  there  revealing  possible  stations,  between 
which  only  cracks  and  sHght  protuberances  of- 
fered scanty  holds  for  foot  and  hand."  With 
great  care,  however,  they  finally  reached  the  top 
of  the  cliff.  Here,  however,  they  were  brought 
to  a  standstill. 

"A  most  ominous  situation  revealed  itself. 
The  final  peak  was  before  us,  and  its  summit 
hardly  three  hundred  feet  distant — a  great  white 
hissing  mass, — a  precipice  on  the  hidden  left  side, 
a  steep  snow-slope  of  perhaps  Q5  to  70  degrees  on 

[139] 


AMONG  THE  CAJ^ADIAN  ALPS 

the  right.  Under  the  July  sun  its  whole  surface 
was  seemingly  in  a  state  of  flux,  slipping  over  the 
underlying  mass  with  a  constant,  threatening 
hiss.  A  second  narrow  arete  led  across  to  this 
final  summit.  This,  too,  was  corniced,  and  in  a 
remarkable  way.  The  swirl  of  the  wind  had  pro- 
duced an  unusual  spectacle.  At  the  beginning 
and  at  the  end,  the  cornice  hung  out  to  the  right; 
in  the  middle,  a  reversed  section  of  it  overhimg 
the  abyss  on  the  left. 

"The  two  similar  ones  could  doubtless  have 
been  passed.  To  cross  the  middle  section  meant 
trusting  ourselves  to  the  sun-beaten  slope  already 
in  avalanching  condition.  Indeed,  while  we 
studied  it,  and  as  if  to  furnish  the  final  argument 
to  our  debate,  the  snow  on  our  right  impinging 
against  the  cornice  broke  away,  and  down  went  a 
well-developed  avalanche  a  couple  of  thousand 
feet  over  that  much-tilted  surface,  and  vanished 
in  a  sheer  plunge  that  landed  it  perhaps  three 
thousand  feet  below  that.  It  was  a  suggestive 
and  persuasive  sight.  Feeling  sure  that  we  had 
seen  enough  for  one  day  we  beat  a  careful  re- 
treat." 

The  1903  climb  was  practically  identical  with 
that  of  1901,  but  the  conditions  were  entirely  dif- 
ferent.   "The  broken  arete  was  indeed  under  a 

[140] 


MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

draping  of  recent  snow,  but  no  cornice  was  in 
evidence.  It  was  'plain  sailing' — and  yet  very  in- 
teresting, for  the  arete  was  so  narrow  and  thin 
that  one  astride  it  could  have  his  left  leg  vertical 
over  a  sheer  drop,  at  first  indeed  overhanging,  of 
hundreds  if  not  thousands  of  feet,  while  its  mate 
pointed  down  that  76°  slope  of  snow,  as  silent 
now  as  it  was  noisy  in  1901.  At  eleven  o'clock 
we  were  on  the  summit — Goodsir  was  ours.  The 
repulse  of  two  years  ago  was  forgotten,  and  our 
affections  went  out  to  the  graceful  peak,  no  longer 
a  sullen  monster,  and,  for  the  joys  of  that  one 
glorious  hour  spent  on  its  pure  snowy  summit,  we 
granted  it  our  love  for  a  lifetime." 

The  same  year  Professor  Parker,  with  the 
guides  Christian  and  Hans  Kaufmann,  made  a 
successful  attack  on  Mount  Hungabee,  the  grim 
"Chieftain"  (as  the  Indian  name  is  translated) 
that  stands  guard  at  the  head  of  Paradise  Valley. 

The  party  left  the  Chalet  at  Lake  Louise  on 
the  morning  of  July  20th,  and  travelling  up  the 
Valley  of  the  Ten  Peaks,  crossed  over  by  a  high 
pass  into  Prospectors  Valley  where  they  camped. 
The  following  morning  at  3.50  they  left  camp  and 
tramped  up  the  valley  to  the  foot  of  Hungabee. 
A  steep  slope  brought  them  to  the  foot  of  a 
vertical  cliff,  the  only  practical  means  of  ascent 

[141] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

being  by  way  of  a  narrow  chimney  filled  with  ice. 
Christian  Kaufmann  went  ahead,  leaving  his  com- 
panions at  the  foot  of  the  cliff  until  he  should 
reach  the  top. 

*'It  was  only,"  says  Professor  Parker,  "by 
watching  the  rope  that  Hans  and  I  could  judge 
the  progress  Christian  was  making  above  us. 
For  minutes  at  a  time,  it  seemed,  the  rope  would 
be  motionless,  then  inch  by  inch  it  would  slowly 
disappear  up  the.chimney,  and  the  crash  of  falling 
rocks  and  ice  would  warn  us  that  we  must  cling 
even  more  closely  and  find  what  protection  we 
could  beneath  the  rocky  wall."  At  last  Christian 
gave  the  signal  to  follow,  and  the  others  soon 
stood  beside  him  at  the  top  of  the  chimney. 
Above  them  a  smooth,  steep  slope  led  to  the  final 
peak,  over  which  they  made  their  way  without  dif- 
ficulty. The  summit  was  now  only  a  few  hiyi- 
dred  feet  above,  but  the  arete  or  ridge  lead- 
ing to  it  was  broken  by  vertical  cHff  s  and  quite  un- 
scalable. The  only  alternative  was  to  traverse 
a  tremendously  steep  snow-slope  at  the  base  of  the 
cliffs  and  so  reach  the  final  cone. 

"We  did  not,"  says  Professor  Parker,  "discuss 
the  possible  dangers  of  such  a  course,  but  cau- 
tiously made  our  way  beneath  the  cliffs,  turned  a 
most  sensational  corner  almost  in  mid-air  above 

[142] 


MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

Paradise  VaUey,  and  then  scaled  a  nearly  perpen- 
dicular cliff  by  means  of  a  convenient  crack.  We 
were  now  on  the  arete  but  a  very  short  distance 
from  the  summit.  Only  one  more  difficulty  con- 
fronted us :  a  narrow  'gabel,'  or  break  in  the  arete, 
only  a  few  feet  in  width  it  is  true,  but  with  a 
nearly  sheer  descent  of  thousands  of  feet  on  either 
side.  This  gabel  must  be  crossed  to  reach  the 
summit.  The  arete  was  far  too  narrow  to  allow 
a  jump  being  made  with  safety;  so,  slowly  and 
carefully,  while  firmly  grasping  the  rock  on  one 
side.  Christian  thrust  his  feet  forward  until  they 
touched  the  other  and  his  body  bridged  the  chasm; 
then  a  strong  forward  swing,  and  he  stood  safely 
beyond  the  gap.  For  me,  aided  by  the  rope,  the 
matter  was  far  less  difiicult,  and  soon  we  made 
our  way  over  the  intervening  arete,  gained  the 
corniced  summit,  and  Hungabee,  the  grim  old 
'Chieftain,'  at  last  was  conquered." 

Among  many  daring  climbs  in  the  Canadian 
Rockies,  few  have  been  more  sensational  than  the 
successful  ascent  of  Pinnacle  Mountain,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Paradise  Valley,  by  J.  W.  A. 
Hickson  in  1909.  The  following  is  borrowed 
from  Mr.  Hickson's  spirited  account  of  the  climb 
in  the  Canadian  Alpine  Journal,  1910.  Several 
determined  efforts  had  been  made  to  capture  the 

[143] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

peak  during  the  summer  of  1907,  but  the  season 
was  unfavourable  for  mountaineering,  and  in 
every  case  the  climbers  were  driven  back.  The 
critical  point  was  at  the  foot  of  an  almost  vertical 
tower,  a  few  hundred  feet  below  the  srnnmit,  but 
only  two  possible  means  of  surmounting  this  final 
wall  presented  themselves.  One  was  by  way  of 
a  chimney  or  crack  in  the  wall,  and  the  other  in 
traversing  the  face  of  the  mountain  along  an  ex- 
tremely narrow  ledge  of  pecuHarly  rotten  rock. 
The  first  had  been  tried  unsuccessfully  in  1907. 
The  latter  formed  the  route  of  the  1909  expedi- 
tion. Mr.  Hickson  was  accompanied  by  two 
Swiss  guides,  Edouard  Fuez,  Jr.,  and  Rudolf 
Aemmer. 

"It  was  realised,"  says  Mr.  Hickson,  "that  only 
very  slow  progress  could  be  made  in  this  direction, 
for  the  disintegrated  tawny-coloured  limestone 
rock  was  of  a  most  treacherous  character.  It  was 
covered  for  the  most  part  with  a  glaze  of  ice, 
which  when  disturbed  had  a  tendency  to  bring  the 
eroded  limestone  away  with  it.  It  was  hard  to 
say  whether  the  rock  sustained'  the  ice  or  vice 
versa;  perhaps  the  support,  such  as  it  was,  was 
mutual. 

"In  our  attempt  to  turn  a  sharp  angle  I  found 
myself  sitting  for  about  ten.  minutes — ^but  for 

[144] 


c 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

peak  during  the  summer  of  1907,  but  the  season 
wa<s  unfavourable  for  mountaineering,  and  in 
every  case  the  climbers  were  driven  back.  The 
critical  point  was  at  the  foot  of  an  almost  vertical 
tower,  a  few  hundred  feet  below  the  summit,  but 
only  two  possible  means  of  surmounting  this  final 
wall  presented  themselves.  One  was  by  way  of 
a  chimney  or  crack  in  the  wall,  and  the  other  in 
traversing  the  face  q|,  the  moimiain  along  an  ex- 
tremely  narrow  led^^*^  peculiarly  rotten  rock. 
The  first  had  been  g^i^dgunsuccessfuliy  in  1907. 
The  latter  formed  tfie|r(Jite  of  tl^  1909  expedi- 
tion. Mr.  Hicksoig  ^af  accompanied  by  two 
Swiss  guides,  Edoiwitl  "iB'uez,  Jr.,  and  Rudolf 
Aemmer.  .^  ^  t 

"It  was  realised,"^! s|VIr.  Hickson,  "that  only 
very  slow  progress  c^|j!|e  made  in  this  direction, 
for  the  disintegrate  gtaSvny-coloured  limestone 
rock  was  of  a  most  tMjfcherous  character.  It  was 
covered  for  the  mcfeft  part  with  a  glaze  of  ice, 
which  when  disturbed  had  a  tendency  to  bring  the 
eroded  limestone  away  with  it.  It  was  hard  to 
say  whether  the  rock  sustained'  the  ice  or  vice 
versa;  perhaps  the  support,  such  as  it  was,  was 
mutual. 

**In  our  attempt  to  turn  a  sharp  angle  I  found 
myself  sitting  for  about  ten.  minutes — ^but  for 

[1*4.] 


MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

what  seemed  more  like  half  an  hour — astride  a 
rocky  protuberance,  which  appeared  likely  to 
give  way  at  any  moment,  while  Fuez  was  en- 
deavouring to  find  a  good  footing  on  the  other 
side.  For  a  few  minutes  I  almost  regretted  that 
I  had  come ;  for  there  was  a  sheer  drop  on  either 
side  of  probably  2,000  feet.  At  many  places 
there  were  no  handholds ;  and  we  dared  not  touch 
the  rocks  with  our  ice-axes  lest  we  should  preci- 
pitate downwards  the  insecure  supports  we  were 
standing  on.  We  were  very  much  in  the  position 
of  flies  on  a  nearly  vertical  wall  covered  with  sand 
which  from  time  to  time  was  cnmibling  off. 
There  was  no  defined  ledge  to  follow. 

"Advancing  gingerly  with  cat-Hke  tread,  and 
avoiding  any  spring  or  jerk  which  might  detach 
the  insecure  footholds  and  leave  us  hanging  pre- 
cariously, Fuez  picked  out  places  here  and  there 
which  offered  the  chance  of  a  support,  and  we 
were  glad  when  we  found  a  piece  of  rock  an  inch 
or  two  wide  and  a  few  inches  long  on  a  part  of 
which  a  nailed  boot-edge  could  obtain  a  transitory 
grip.  It  is  remarkable  how  very  small  a  projec- 
tion, if  not  slippery,  will  suffice  for  a  temporary 
hold.  Fortunately  not  one  of  the  party  once 
slipped;  thus  avoiding  any  test  as  to  how  far  he 
could  have  been  held  by  the  others.    Luckily, 

[145] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

also,  we  had  lots  of  rope,  so  that  we  could  allow 
about  twenty-five  feet  between  each  person,  and 
thus  enabled  us  at  times  to  manoeuvre  into  better 
positions. 

"Our  nerves  throughout  this  period  of  two 
hours,  during  most  of  which  only  one  of  us  moved 
at  a  time,  were  at  considerable  tension;  not  a  mo- 
ment of  slackness  or  diminution  of  watchfulness 
being  allowable.  A  keen  lookout  was  constantly 
demanded  to  meet  an  emergency  which  was  not  at 
all  improbable.  Nothing  could  be  taken  or  was 
taken  for  granted,  except  that  everything  was  un- 
reliable and  an  accident  might  be  expected.  This 
is  perhaps  why  none  occurred. 

"After  advancing  persistently  and  almost  hori- 
zontally along  the  face  of  the  wall  for  two  hom-s, 
we  saw  an  unexpected  chance  of  reaching  our  goal 
more  speedily  than  we  had  latterly  hoped.  This 
was  offered  by  a  large  couloir  leading  to  the  *sad- 
dle'  between  the  black  tower  and  the  summit  of 
the  mountain,  which  is  not  much  higher  than  the 
top  of  the  tower.  Fairly  steep  and  broad,  the 
gulch  contained  some  ice  and  snow. 

"As  we  got  down  into  it  Fuez  turned  to  me  and 
said,  'I  think  we've  got  him,'  of  which  I  was  al- 
ready convinced.  Crossing  the  couloir  we  rap- 
idly ascended  the  rocks  on  the  left  side  and  at  its 

[146] 


MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

top,  to  our  great  surprise,  landed  on  a  bed  of 
shale,  which  by  an  easy  slope  led  in  a  few  minutes 
to  the  summit." 

After  resting  for  a  time  on  the  summit,  and 
enjoying  the  wonderful  panorama  of  peaks  and 
valleys,  they  prepared  to  make  the  descent.  It 
being  more  trying  and  precarious  to  climb  down 
than  up  a  mountain,  the  guides  were  unwilling 
to  follow  the  rather  hazardous  route  they  had 
taken  on  the  way  to  the  simimit,  if  it  could  be 
avoided,  and  it  was  therefore,  decided  to  attempt 
the  chimney,  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain. 

"We  followed  a  narrow  but  firm  ledge  for 
about  fifteen  minutes  from  the  saddle  around  the 
southerly  tower.  It  then  became  necessary  to 
reconnoitre  to  see  if  the  route  proposed  were 
further  feasible.  So  the  second  guide  Aemmer, 
assisted  by  Fuez,  went  ahead  and  soon  returned 
to  say  that  we  could  get  down  by  roping  off. 
This  led  to  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  excit- 
ing bits  of  the  whole  climb. 

"At  the  comer  or  angle  where  the  ledge  termi- 
nated there  was  a  peculiar  arrangement  of  rock 
which  had  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  small 
square  hole  with  nothing  but  sky  to  be  seen  on 
the  further  side.  Under  this  hole  there  was  a 
gap  in  the  ledge  of  about  three  feet,  with  a  drop 

[147] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

of  about  fifteen  feet  into  a  dark  pit  beneath.  To 
cross  the  gap  it  was  necessary  to  lie  down  flat 
upon  the  ledge  on  the  one  side  with  face  to  the 
rock,  stretch  your  feet  to  the  rock  on  the  other, 
your  body  thus  spanning  the  gap,  then  draw 
yourself  through  the  hole  and  gradually  swing 
yourself  into  an  upright  position  by  the  help  of 
the  rope  and  the  handholds  in  the  further  wall 
of  rock.  It  looked  a  more  trying  operation  than 
it  actually  was  because  one  had  to  turn  somewhat 
sharply  on  emerging  from  the  hole  in  order  to 
stand  on  a  somewhat  slender  ledge.  But  there 
is  practically  no  danger;  when  one  is  firmly  held 
on  the  rope  by  guides,  whose  caution  and  re- 
sourcefulness, here  as  elsewhere,  were  admirable, 
and  have  fully  justified  the  confidence  which  I 
have  always  reposed  in  their  abiHty. 

"Having,  with  mutual  assistance,  all  three  sur- 
mounted this  difficulty  and  having  advanced  a 
little  further  down  the  side  of  the  tower,  we  per- 
ceived a  way  into  the  chimney  already  referred 
to,  about  sixty  feet  above  its  base.  Here  it  was 
obvious  that  the  only  way  of  getting  down  was 
to  rope  off.  Amongst  other  paraphernalia  we 
had  brought  with  us  an  extra  short  piece  of  rope 
which  would  serve  as  a  loop.  It  was  now  slung 
around  a  firm  piece  of  rock,  which  was  rendered 

[148] 


MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

more  adaptable  to  the  purpose  by  a  little  hammer- 
ing, while  through  the  loop  was  passed  a  second 
rope  about  120  feet  long.  This  being  doubled 
still  gave  us  the  required  length. 

"I  went  down  first,  being  held  besides  on  an- 
other rope,  so  that  no  serious  mishap  could  have 
overtaken  me.  For  the  first  forty  feet  there 
were  practically  no  footholds  to  be  found,  a  fact 
for  which  we  were  prepared;  but  fortunately  the 
rock  was  good — indeed,  this  is  the  only  bit  of 
firm  rock  on  the  mountain — and  I  got  safely 
down  and  out  of  the  chinmey,  after  swinging  once 
or  twice  like  a  bundle  of  goods,  without  any 
worse  experience  than  having  my  clothing  a  lit- 
tle torn  and  with  the  feeling  that  there  might 
be  a  permanent  groove  around  the  centre  of  my 
body. 

"Fuez  descended  next  and  took  a  photograph 
of  Aemmer  sitting  at  the  top.  As  Aemmer  was 
descending  he  disturbed  a  small  stone  which 
danced  down  with  great  force  and,  to  Fuez's 
chagrin,  cut  off  about  twenty  feet  from  the  lower 
end  of  his  fine  manilla  rope.  We  then  pulled 
down  the  rope,  but  of  course,  had  to  leave  be- 
hind the  loop,  which  may  be  serviceable  to  some 
other  party." 

One  is  tempted  to  repeat  the  story  of  the  first 

[149] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

successful  ascent  of  Mount  Deltaform,  described 
by  Wilcox  as  the  "most  difficult  mountain  yet  as- 
cended in  the  Canadian  Rockies;"  and  of  Wil- 
cox's own  climb  up  Mount  Temple,  but  both  are 
readily  accessible  in  the  Rockies  of  Canada, 
Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task  of  scal- 
ing Deltaform  may  be  got  from  the  fact  that  an 
unusually  strong  climbing  party  consisting  of 
Professor  H.  C.  Parker,  Dr.  A.  Eggers,  and  the 
Swiss  guides  Hans  and  Christian  Kaufmann, 
were  nearly  twenty-two  hours  in  conquering  the 
peak,  "after  a  reconnaissance  and  repulse  two 
days  before." 

This  sketch  of  mountain-climbing  in  the  main 
range  of  the  Canadian  Rockies,  designed  merely 
to  give  as  far  as  possible  in  the  words  of  the 
actors,  some  idea  of  the  experiences  incident  to 
this  king  of  sports,  may  close  with  an  account  of 
the  first  ascent  of  Crows  Nest  Mountain,  one  of 
the  most  difficult  cHmbs  in  the  Southern  Cana- 
dian Rockies.  P.  D.  McTavish  tells  the  story 
in  the  Canadian  Alpine  Journal,  1907. 

In  August,  1905,  Mr.  McTavish,  with  three 
friends,  reached  the  base  of  the  mountain  and 
after  several  attempts  which  ended  in  quite  im- 
possible precipices,  found  a  great  crevice  leading 
up  about  400  feet  and  "resembling  the  space  left 

[150] 


Byron  Harmon 


SNOW     MUSHROOMS 


George  Kinney 

ICICLES     ON    MOUNT    ROBSON 

(  50  feet  long ) 


MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

in  a  whole  cheese  when  a  thin  wedge-shaped  piece 
has  been  removed."  After  resting  for  a  time, 
they  climbed  up  to  a  dome  of  rock  which  had  ob- 
structed their  view.  "With  some  difficulty  we 
surmounted  this,  and  found  ourselves  at  the  base 
of  a  beautifully  straight,  but  very  perpendicular, 
chimney,  about  six  feet  in  width  and  two  hun- 
dred feet  high.  This  offered  possibilities,  so  we 
immediately  proceeded  to  climb  to  the  top.  Ar- 
riving there,  a  short  shaly  slope  led  to  a  similar 
chimney,  up  which  we  climbed.  We  now  found 
ourselves  at  the  top  of  the  first  circular  band 
which  begirts  the  mountain,  and  felt  that  victory 
was  within  our  grasp. 

"For  some  time  we  encountered  a  series  of 
steep,  rocky  slopes  and  perpendicular  faces, 
which  led  to  a  long  slope  of  about  one  thousand 
feet,  after  which  the  climbing  again  became  fairly 
difficult,  but  for  only  a  short  time,  as  we  had 
reached  the  final  domie,  and  at  12.15  o'clock  we 
stood  upon  the  summit."  The  entire  climb  had 
occupied  about  four  hours. 


[151] 


X 

CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 


CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 

ALTHOUGH  W.  S.  Green  had  made 
an  attempt  in  1888,  it  was  not  until 
two  years  later  that  the  giant  of  the 
Selkirks,  Momit  Sir  Donald,  was  conquered.  In 
July,  1890,  Carl  Sulzer  and  Emil  Huber,  of  the 
Swiss  Alpine  Club,  set  out  one  morning  about  4 
o'clock  from  their  camp  at  timber  line,  deter- 
mined to  find  a  way  to  the  summit  of  the  magnifi- 
cent peak  that  shot  up  into  the  sky  from  their 
very  feet.  They  had  already  studied  the  moun- 
tain from  several  points,  and  had  selected  a  route 
that  looked  promising. 

Crossing  a  small  glacier,  they  turned  up  a 
couloir  or  gully  terminating  in  a  cave,  above 
which  the  cliffs  rose  almost  perpendicularly. 
The  last  part  of  the  couloir  became  so  narrow  that 
the  climbers  had  to  force  their  way  up  by  prop- 
ping their  bodies  in  the  angle  against  the  rocks 
on  either  side. 

After  a  short  rest,  they  started  climbing  up  to 

[155] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  rocks  of  the  southern  ridge.  It  was  stiff  work 
in  places  even  for  such  experienced  mountaineers, 
but  finally  they  reached  the  main  crest  and  "gazed 
beyond  the  undulating  tops  of  the  foot-hills,  upon 
the  far-stretched  row  of  blue  peaks  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains."  Following  the  arete,  or  steep  ridge 
of  the  mountain,  and  overcoming  more  than  one 
difiiculty  as  they  went,  they  finally  stood  upon  the 
summit,  10,800  feet  above  the  sea. 

From  this  isolated  point  they  had  a  wonderful 
view  of  the  Selkirks,  with  the  main  range  of  the 
Rockies  in  the  distance.  "The  finest  view  pre- 
sented itself  in  the  southwest  and  south.  Above 
the  undulations  of  the  Asulkan  and  Illecillewaet 
glaciers  and  opposite  a  deep  valley,  the  fine  group 
of  Mount  Dawson  arose  with  its  two  corner-pil- 
lars. Mount  Donkin  and  Mount  Fox.  But  the 
most  beautiful  mountain  of  all  appeared  above  the 
opening  between  Mount  Dawson  and  Moimt 
Donkin.  It  was  Mount  Purity,  very  properly 
so  called,  a  snow  mountain  of  the  finest  order." 

Building  a  cairn  to  commemorate  the  first  as- 
cent of  Sir  Donald,  and  burying  in  it  a  bottle 
containing  a  record  of  the  climb,  ending  with  the 
jubilant  words,  "Three  cheers  for  Switzerland," 
they  retraced  their  way  down  the  mountain,  and 
were  enthusiastically  received  at  Glacier  House, 

[156] 


CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 

news  of  the  first  big  climb  in  the  Selkirks  being 
immediately  telegraphed  east  and  west. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  same  month,  Herr  Ru- 
ber, accompanied  by  Messrs.  Topham  and  For- 
ster,  of  the  English  Alpine  Club,  made  the  first 
ascent  of  Mount  Purity,  which  had  been  named 
by  Topham.  They  camped  on  the  western  slopes 
of  the  mountain,  and  set  out  for  the  summit  about 
sunrise  the  following  morning.  The  climb  was  a 
comparatively  easy  one  to  such  seasoned  moun- 
taineers, and  two  hours'  work  brought  the  party 
to  the  summit. 

Meanwhile  Herr  Sulzer  was  attacking  another 
virgin  peak,  which  he  had  named  Swiss  Peak. 
He  had  but  one  companion,  with  little  or  no  ex- 
perience in  mountain-climbing,  so  that  the  at- 
tempt was  a  somewhat  daring  one. 

Clambering  up  a  series  of  grassy  slopes  and 
rock  ridges,  and  crossing  a  glacier,  they  encoun- 
tered steep  rocks  which  afforded  interesting 
though  cautious  climbing.  A  steep  ice-slope 
now  blocked  further  progress,  and  had  to  be  ne- 
gotiated by  cutting  "deep  steps  into  the  blue 
ice,  which  was  as  hard  as  glass."  An  hour's  hard 
work  brought  them  to  the  rocks  on  the  opposite 
side.  A  comparatively  easy  climb  along  the 
ridge  finally  conducted  them  to  the  summit. 

[157] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

"The  day,"  says  Sulzer,  "was  perfectly  clear. 
As  far  as  the  eye  could  see  were  innumerable 
mountain  peaks  all  around.  In  the  southern 
foreground  the  ice-girdled,  central  mass  of  the 
Selkirks,  with  its  northern  marking  stone,  the 
bold,  fascinating  Sir  Donald,  appeared  especially 
beautiful.  In  the  east,  beyond  the  lower  Sel- 
kirk peaks,  the  long  row  of  haughty  Rockies  lay 
spread  in  partly  rounded,  partly  broken  shapes 
— -a  scene  which  I  shall  never  forget.  Sharply 
outlined,  dark  rock  masses  interchanged  with 
lofty  snow-tops ;  all  showed  clearly  and  glistened 
in  the  furthest  distance,  where,  only  fading,  their 
faint  outlines  were  lost  in  the  horizon.  The 
northern  groups  showed  some  particularly 
high  peaks,  and  immense  snow  and  ice-fields. 
Stately  mountain  chains  in  the  west  completed 
the  scope."  Herr  Sulzer  supposed  the  high 
peaks  in  the  north  to  be  Mount  Brown  and  Mount 
Hooker,  the  famous  peaks  near  the  headwaters 
of  the  Athabaska  which  David  Douglas  the  bot- 
anist estimated  in  1827  to  be  between  16,000  and 
17,000  feet  in  height,  and  which  Professor  A.  P. 
Coleman  of  Toronto  visited  in  1893  and  found  to 
be  about  9000  feet !  In  1890,  of  course,  they  were 
still  supposed  to  be  the  highest  peaks  in  the  Cana- 
dian Rockies,  and  many  an  ambitious  mountain- 

[158] 


p.  L.  Tail 


CLIMBING    MOUNT    RESPLENDANT 


P.  L.    Tail 

SUMMIT     OF    MOUNT    RESPLENDANT 

11,173  feet  above  the  sea 


CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 

climber  hoped  some  day  to  stand  upon  their  re- 
mote smnmits. 

As  the  reputed  eminence  of  these  now  rather 
despised  mountains  was  universally  received  for 
well-nigh  three-quarters  of  a  century,  and  is  still 
recorded  in  a  number  of  very  respectable  books 
of  reference,  it  may  not  be  without  interest  to 
quote  Douglas's  own  account,  as  found  in  his 
Journal: 

"Being  well  rested  by  one  o'clock,"  (he  was 
then  at  the  summit  of  Athabaska  Pass),  "I  set 
out  with  the  view  of  ascending  what  seemed  to  be 
the  highest  peak  on  the  north.  Its  height  does 
not  appear  to  be  less  than  sixteen  thousand  or 
seventeen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
After  passing  over  the  lower  ridge  I  came  to 
about  1200  feet  of  by  far  the  most  difficult  and  fa- 
tiguing walking  I  have  ever  experienced,  and 
the  utmost  care  was  required  to  tread  safely 
over  the  crust  of  snow. 

"The  view  from  the  summit  is  of  too  awful  a 
cast  to  afford  pleasure.  Nothing  can  be  seen  in 
every  direction  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  ex- 
cept mountains  towering  above  each  other,  rug- 
ged beyond  description.  .  .  .  This  peak,  the 
highest  yet  known  in  the  northern  continent  of 
America,  I  feel  a  sincere  pleasure  in  naming 

[159] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

'Mount  Brown,'  in  honour  of  R.  Brown,  Esq., 
the  illustrious  botanist.  ...  A  little  to  the  south- 
ward is  one  nearly  the  same  height,  rising  into  a 
sharper  point;  this  I  named  Mount  Hooker,  in 
honour  of  my  early  patron,  the  Professor  of  Bot- 
any in  the  University  of  Glasgow.  This  moun- 
tain, however,  I  was  unable  to  climb." 

Dr.  J.  Norman  Collie,  in  commenting  on  this 
passage,  says:  "If  Douglas  climbed  a  seven- 
teen-thousand-feet  peak  alone  on  a  May  after- 
noon, when  the  snow  must  have  been  pretty  deep 
on  the  ground,  all  one  can  say  is  that  he  must  have 
been  an  uncommonly  active  person.  What,  of 
course,  he  really  did  was  to  ascend  the  Mount 
Brown  of  Professor  Coleman,  which  is  about  nine 
thousand  feet  high.  These  two  fabulous  Titans, 
therefore,  which  for  nearly  seventy  years  have 
been  masquerading  as  the  monarchs  of  the  Cana- 
dian Rockies,  must  now  be  finally  deposed." 

In  a  letter  from  Mr.  A.  L.  Mumm,  of  the  Eng- 
lish Alpine  Club,  who  did  some  climbing  in  the 
Canadian  Rockies  in  the  autumn  of  1913,  he  men- 
tions that  he  climbed  Mount  Brown,  and  his  ane- 
roid made  the  height  8950  feet.  Lest  the  humili- 
ated mole-hill  should  fade  away  altogether,  he  is 
willing  to  admit  that  the  accepted  elevation  of 
9050  feet  is  probably  correct.     As  for  Mount 

[160] 


CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 

Hooker,  no  one  seems  to  have  thought  it  worth 
while  to  climh  it.  In  fact  there  is  no  great  cer- 
tainty as  to  which  of  the  mountains  about  Atha- 
baska  Pass  was  Douglas'  Mount  Hooker.  All 
that  remains  certain  is  that  no  peak  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood remotely  approaches  the  height  given 
by  the  well-meaning  botanist. 

We  may  return  to  Herr  Sulzer  for  a  moment  to 
note  a  curious  incident  that  he  mentions  in  con- 
nection with  an  expedition  to  a  point  west  of 
Mount  Tupper.  "Seated  on  the  highest  eleva- 
tion,'* he  says,  "I  began  to  sketch  a  portion  of  the 
view,  while  black  thunderclouds  sailed  towards 
the  ridge  from  the  valley.  Suddenly,  two  stone 
slabs  next  to  me  and  standing  opposite  each  other 
begin  to  make  a  humming  noise,  the  metal  holder 
of  my  sketching  pencil  buzzes  and  my  pick  be- 
gins to  crackle  strongly,  especially  when  I  grasp 
it.  Simultaneously,  a  slight  rain  sets  in  and  my 
fingers,  also  moistened  by  the  rain,  buzz.  My 
companion  is  taken  by  a  sudden  fright  and  is  in- 
capable of  uttering  a  sound.  The  cause  of  this 
phenomenon  was  clear  to  me  at  once,  although  I 
was  not  fully  aware  of  the  degree  of  danger  which 
it  might  include.  We  were  in  an  electric  cloud. 
I  remembered  to  have  heard  a  few  thunder  re- 
ports a  short  time  before,  issuing  from  the  same 

[161] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

cloud  which  had  now  reached  us.  The  main  vol- 
ume of  electricity  stored  up  in  it  had  escaped  by 
lightning.  The  rest  escaped  when  it  reached  the 
ridge,  and  to  some  extent,  we  ourselves  involun- 
tarily acted  as  conductors  to  the  earth.  A  direct 
danger,  therefore,  was  not  present;  for  if  the 
electric  tension  had  still  been  great  enough  to  gen- 
erate lightning  flashes,  such  would  have  been 
ejected  before  the  clouds  themselves  touched  the 
ridge.  Nevertheless,  the  phenomenon  was  so 
strong  that  when  I  touched  the  pick  on  its  metal 
mount,  I  felt  a  strong  shock,  and  at  night  the 
play  of  sparks  would  undoubtedly  have  been  vis- 
ible." 

The  Minute  Book  at  Glacier  House  contains 
an  account  of  the  first  ascent  of  Mount  Tupper, 
by  Wolfgang  Koehler,  of  Leipzig,  in  1906.  A 
translation  of  the  narrative  appeared  in  the  Cana- 
dian Alpine  Journal,  1909,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  taken: 

Koehler  made  the  expedition  with  two  Swiss 
guides,  Edouard  Fuez,  Jr.,  and  Gottfried  Fuez. 
They  walked  from  Glacier  to  Rogers  Pass,  and 
climbed  up  the  trail  to  a  hut  provided  for  moun- 
tain-climbers, where  they  spent  the  night. 

"The  night  was  wonderfully  beautiful,  a  cloud- 
less sky  and  brilliant  moonlight.    Moreover,  to 

[162] 


CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 

be  surrounded  by  the  dear,  beautiful  mountains! 
How  one's  heart  goes  out  to  them  I  Towards 
4  A.  M.  we  got  up,  breakfasted,  and  started  off 
at  5  A.  M.  We  took  the  direction  at  first  im- 
mediately behind  the  hut,  then  turned  off  to  the 
right,  and  across  the  little  icy  creek,  looking  up  to 
Rogers,  Swiss  and  Fleming  Peaks,  Mount  Tup- 
per,  Sifton  and  Grizzly.  It  was  always  up  and 
then  down  again.  We  had  innumerable  gullies 
and  streams  to  cross,  until  we  reached  the  ridge 
at  the  end  of  two  hours.  We  rested,  and  then 
started  again,  always  following  the  ridge  over  icy 
blocks." 

So  they  made  their  way,  with  more  or  less  dif- 
ficulty, until  they  reached  a  point  where  more 
serious  problems  confronted  them.  There  were 
several  possible  routes,  all  involving  pretty  stiff 
climbing.  One  was  finally  selected  as  the  most 
promising. 

"In  the  middle  of  the  right  wall  was  a  broad 
chimney,  if  only  we  could  get  up  there  direct. 
Two  ridges  appeared  running  parallel,  which 
seemed  to  make  the  ascent  possible.  We  climbed 
to  the  first  ridge,  next  to  the  chimney,  then  up  the 
first  ridge  in  the  chimney  itself.  So  far  we  were 
still  right.  With  the  help  of  three  picks  and  four 
hands  Edouard  got  up  a  little  higher,  but  quickly 

[163] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

came  down  again.  That  could  not  be  the  right 
way.  He  tried  then  to  go  direct  by  the  chimney, 
but  that  was  not  practicable,  and  so  he  had  to 
come  back. 

"In  between  was  Gottfried,  who  had  success- 
fully climbed  up  and  stood  in  the  chimney.  I 
followed,  Gottfried  continued  on,  but  a  shower 
of  big  and  small  stones  came  down.  It  seemed 
as  if  everything  was  rotten,  and,  in  spite  of  great 
care,  not  one  of  us  could  avoid  bringing  down  the 
stones.  We  now  went  on  the  outside,  round  the 
rock,  and  came  to  a  big  flat,  climbed  a  little 
broken  chimney,  and  then  got  over  a  large  rock. 
Soon  we  stood  again  before  the  wall.  One  piece 
appeared  somewhat  loose,  and  formed  a  breach, 
which  gave  us  sufficient  hold  to  get  on  to  a  small 
platform.  From  there  it  was  a  short,  somewhat 
overhanging  climb  to  the  higher  platform.  *This 
is  the  sort  of  place  for  people  with  long  legs,' 
Edouard  called  out  (I  am  6  ft.  4  in.).  *Alas, 
we  little  ones  have  no  chance.' 

"We  now  came  back  again  to  the  ridge,  came 
to  a  little  gendarme  (isolated  rock  tower  or  pin- 
nacle) with  a  beautiful  outlook  down  the  valley, 
and  climbed  on,  until  we  suddenly  came  t6  a  wide 
platform.  We  had  all  three  expected  that  the 
last  piece  to  the  summit  would  be  especially  dif- 

[164] 


R.  C.  W.  Lett 


CLIMBING    AMONG    THE    8ERACS 


CLIMBING  IN  THE  SELKIRKS 

ficult.  It  looked  so  from  the  distance,  but  when 
we  came  to  it  quite  an  easy  way  appeared  of  get- 
ting up.  We  stepped  over  one  sharp  knife-edged 
ridge,  'tight-rope  dancing'  we  called  it,  and  with 
a  loud  hurrah,  reached  the  summit.  .  .  .  Would 
that  many  could  see  and  experience  the  joy  of 
this  beautiful  mountain  as  I  have  done.  Auf- 
wiedersehenr 


[165] 


XI 
AFIELD  IN  JASPER 


XI 
AFIELD  IN  JASPER 

HITHERTO  we  have  been  wandering 
about  what  may  be  called  the  South- 
ern Group  of  the  Canadian  National 
Parks,  along  the  main  line  of  the  Canadian  Pa- 
cific Railway.  There  remain  two  parks,  Jasper 
and  Robson,  lying  on  either  side  of  Yellowhead 
Pass,  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  fur-trade  as 
Tete  Jaune.  Through  both  run  the  lines  of  the 
new  transcontinental  railways,  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  and  the  Canadian  Northern,  on  their  way 
to  the  Pacific  coast.  These  two  parks  may  for 
convenience  be  called  the  Northern  Group,  al- 
though only  one  is  strictly  speaking  a  national 
park,  Robson  being  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Provincial  Government  of  British  Columbia. 
Tete  Jaune  Pass  and  Tete  Jaune  Cache  are  said 
to  commemorate  the  personality  of  a  veteran  In- 
dian trader  or  trapper  whose  yellow  hair  made 
him  conspicuous  in  a  country  where  black  was  the 
prevailing  hue.  Jasper  Park  is  named  after  a 
famous  trader  of  the  North  West  Company, 

[169] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Jasper  Hawes,  the  site  of  whose  trading  fort  may 
still  be  seen  on  the  banks  of  the  Athabaska, 
though  every  vestige  of  the  buildings  has  long 
since  disappeared.  Jasper  House,  as  it  was 
called,  was  still  standing  when  Milton  and 
Cheadle  went  through  the  mountains  in  1862. 
They  describe  it  as  "a  neat  white  building,  sur- 
rounded by  a  low  palisade,  standing  in  a  perfect 
garden  of  wild  flowers,  backed  by  dark  green 
pines  which  clustered  thickly  round  the  bases  of 
the  hills."  Ten  years  later,  when  Sandford 
Fleming  examined  the  pass  as  a  possible  route 
for  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  the  post  had 
been  abandoned  and  the  buildings  were  falling 
into  decay.  A  mile  or  two  east  of  Jasper,  the 
headquarters  of  the  park,  one  is  shown  a  grassy 
mound  which  represents  all  that  remains  of  an- 
other old  trading  post,  Henry  House.  Here  two 
routes  through  the  mountains  forked,  one  lead- 
ing up  to  Yellowhead  Pass,  and  the  other  to 
Athabaska  Pass. 

The  peculiar  charm  of  Jasper  Park,  and  of  its 
aster  reservation  on  the  western  side  of  the  Pass, 
is  in  the  fact  that  it  is  almost  virgin  ground.  As 
a  Park  it  is  very  young  indeed,  and  there  has  not 
yet  been  time  to  improve  upon  nature.  Lest  this 
should  suggest  a  touch  of  sarcasm,  let  us  admit 

[170] 


AFIELD  IN  JASPER 

at  once  that  nature  can  be  improved  upon  when 
the  improvement  takes  the  form  of  practicable 
trails  into  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  and  the 
opening  of  such  trails  is  one  of  the  principal  ob- 
jects of  the  Canadian  Parks  authorities.  Never- 
theless, however  one  may  appreciate  the  conveni- 
ence of  a  good  trail,  there  is  a  joy  unspeakable  to 
the  natural  man  in  getting  out  into  the  wilder- 
ness, if  possible  where  no  man  has  been  before, 
but  at  least  where  nothing  exists  to  remind  him 
of  the  noisy  civilisation  he  has  managed  to  escape 
from  for  a  time.  And  that  is  what  you  will  find 
in  Jasper  Park:  no  automobiles,  no  stage 
coaches,  no  luxurious  hotels,  no  newspapers,  no 
luxiu*ies  of  any  kind,  and  very  few  conveni- 
ences; but  a  sufficiency  of  plain  food,  the  in- 
toxicating air  of  the  mountains  to  eat  it  in,  and 
the  mountains  themselves  ever  about  and  above 
you.  What  more  could  a  tired  man  ask?  What 
more  could  any  man  ask? 

At  least  so  two  eastern  city  men  thought  as 
they  awoke  one  glorious  August  morning  to  find 
their  train  crossing  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Jasper  Park,  with  Brule  Lake  sparkling  ahead 
and  the  curious  outlines  of  Folding  Mountain 
dominating  the  landscape  to  the  south.  At  a  lit- 
tle station  called  Pocahontas,  a  few  miles  beyond 

[171] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

the  western  end  of  the  lake,  they  were  dumped  off 
unceremoniously  with  their  luggage,  and  wel- 
comed by  a  stalwart  park  officer  who  had  rashly 
undertaken  to  look  after  them  for  the  next  few 
days,  and  particularly  to  pilot  them  out  to  the 
Miette  hot  springs.  While  he  trotted  off  to 
round  up  his  ponies,  the  two  "tender feet"  had 
leisure  to  look  about  them. 

Pocahontas,  what  there  is  of  it,  nestles  at  the 
foot  of  Roche  Miette,  a  great  frowning  bastion  of 
rock  dropping  sheer  for  nearly  a  thousand  feet  to- 
ward the  waters  of  the  Athabaska.  They  tell 
you  in  the  mountains  that  it  was  named  after  a 
trapper  who  managed  to  clamber  up  its  precipi- 
tous sides  many  years  ago,  perhaps  in  chase  of  a 
mountain  goat,  and  sat  himself  down  on  the  ex- 
treme edge  with  his  feet  dangling  over  the  thou- 
sand foot  drop.  No  doubt  the  situation  afforded 
him  the  same  satisfaction  that  is  experienced  by 
those  praiseworthy  citizens  whose  names  one  sees 
carved  on  the  extreme  end  of  a  log  overhanging 
the  Horseshoe  Falls  at  Niagara.  Posterity  has 
rather  a  rude  name  for  such  heroes. 

A  short  walk  from  Pocahontas  brings  you  to  a 
view  of  one  of  the  most  charming  waterfalls  in 
this  part  of  the  mountains.  The  erosion  of  ages 
has  here  carved  out  of  the  face  of  the  chff  a  lofty, 

[172] 


AFIELD  IN  JASPER 

semi-circular  alcove,  and  over  this  background  of 
sombre  rock  drops  a  ribbon  of  sparkling  dia- 
monds. An  illustration  might  give  some  idea  of 
the  scene,  but  could  not  do  justice  to  the  peculiar 
grace  and  animation  of  the  fall  as  seen  under  a 
bright  sun  and  swayed  gently  by  a  summer's 
breeze.  There  are  a  number  of  beautiful  water- 
falls in  Jasper  Park,  such  as  those  on  Stony 
River,  a  tributary  of  the  Athabaska  some  dis- 
tance above  Pocahontas,  in  the  Maligne  Canyon, 
of  which  something  will  be  said  later,  on  the 
south  side  of  Pyramid  Mountain,  and  on  Sulphur 
Creek  above  the  hot  springs,  but  none  that  cling 
to  the  memory  like  that  of  the  Punch  Bowl. 

Largely  because  the  Southern  Parks,  Rocky 
Mountains,  Yoho  and  Glacier,  are  comparatively 
well  known,  the  writer  has  preferred  to  describe 
them  impersonally,  to  picture  them  as  far  as  pos- 
sible as  seen  through  the  eyes  of  other  and  more 
competent  authorities,  men  who  have  learnt  to 
know  them  intimately.  The  case  is  different  with 
the  Northern  Parks,  Jasper  and  Robson.  Very 
few  visitors  from  the  outside  world  have  yet  dis- 
covered their  wonderful  possibihties;  indeed  imtil 
very  lately  they  have  been  inaccessible  except  to 
those  possessing  the  time  and  hardihood  for  a  long 
journey  from  Edmonton  over  very  rough  trails. 

[173] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Similarly  very  little  has  been  written  about  the 
Northern  Parks.  For  this  reason  the  writer  will 
venture  to  describe  in  a  more  personal  vein  some 
of  the  characteristic  features  of  Jasper  and  Rob- 
son. 

Presently  the  ponies  arrived,  and  we  set  off  on 
our  fourteen-mile  ride  to  the  Miette  springs. 
The  trail  was  a  good  one,  so  that  we  were  not  yet 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  wilderness.  That 
was  to  come  later.  Mile  after  mile  we  jogged 
along,  sometimes  in  the  open,  sometimes  in  the 
heart  of  the  woods,  winding  zigzag  fashion  down 
a  steep  hillside,  splashing  through  a  noisy  little 
creek,  and  zigzagging  up  the  opposite  hill.  For 
a  couple  of  hours  Roche  Miette  towered  above  us 
as  we  swung  around  his  flank,  and  then  ahead 
loomed  up  the  great  wall  of  Buttress  Mountain, 
with  Fiddle  Creek  winding  along  its  base,  peace- 
fully enough  now,  so  peacefully  indeed  that  it 
is  hard  to  believe  the  tales  we  are  told  of  its  re- 
sistless fury  as  it  rages  down  in  the  spring,  filHng 
this  wide  channel  from  bank  to  bank,  and  turning 
its  wonderful  canyon — 200  feet  of  sheer  black 
rock — into  a  roaring  hell  of  waters. 

The  Springs  themselves  we  did  not  find  par- 
ticularly interesting.  We  listened  respectfully 
to  the  information  that  their  temperature  ranged 

[174] 


AFIELD  IN  JASPER 

from  112  to  128  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  that 
they  possessed  valuable  curative  properties. 
After  testing  the  upper  pool  we  were  willing  to 
believe  that  the  temperature  was  even  worse  than 
that,  and  not  being  rheumatic  we  accepted  the 
curative  properties  without  question  but  with- 
out enthusiasm.  Still  it  was  a  pleasant  enough 
place  to  loaf  for  a  day  or  two,  scrambling 
about  the  hills  and  exploring  the  upper 
waters  of  Sulphur  Creek,  and  the  lower  pool 
turned  out  to  bt  rather  an  agreeable  thing  to  roll 
about  in  for  a  time  before  turning  in  to  our  tent 
for  the  night.  The  big  mountains,  however,  were 
still  ahead  of  us,  and  we  saw  the  last  of  the  little 
group  of  springs  without  much  regret.  Within 
a  year  or  two  the  primitive  pools  that  have  cured 
the  rheimiatism  and  other  ailments  of  genera- 
tions of  traders  and  trappers  for  a  hundred  years 
or  more,  will  be  confined  in  neat  concrete  basins, 
and  a  pipe  line  will  carry  the  water  down  the 
valley  of  Fiddle  Creek  to  the  Chateau  Miette,  one 
of  a  series  of  great  hotels  that  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  Railway  is  to  build  through  the  moun- 
tains. Never  mind,  the  tourists  are  welcome  to 
the  Miette  Hot  Springs,  and  they  may  build  an 
automobile  road  along  the  face  of  Buttress  Moun- 
tain if  they  will,  so  that  they  leave  us  for  a  time 

[175] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

unspoiled  some  of  the  wild  spots  that  he  beyond. 

We  started  back  to  Pocahontas  rather  late  in 
the  afternoon,  and  the  sun  went  down  as  we 
climbed  the  last  hill  from  Fiddle  Creek.  Over 
the  shoulder  of  Buttress  Mountain  a  graceful 
spire  soared  into  the  sky,  and  as  we  turned  in  our 
saddles  to  take  a  last  look  at  it  before  following 
the  trail  into  the  woods,  it  grew  so  strangely  and 
wonderfully  luminous  that  we  unconsciously 
pulled  in  our  horses  and  stood  there  in  silent 
amazement.  Momentarily  the  hght  deepened, 
and  golden  shafts  shot  out  into  the  velvet  sky. 
Then  as  we  gazed  spellbound,  from  the  very  heart 
of  the  golden  crown,  and  immediately  behind  the 
glowing  peak,  there  rose  the  silver  moon,  and 
hovered  for  an  instant  on  the  very  simimit  of  the 
mountain,  a  vision  so  glorious  that  it  almost 
brought  tears  to  one's  eyes. 

An  hour's  ride  by  rail  from  Pocahontas 
carried  us  to  Jasper,  the  headquarters  of  the 
park  administration,  a  rudimentary  town  seated 
in  a  charming  valley  and  surrounded  by  moun- 
tains, with  the  Athabaska  sweeping  by  on  its  way 
down  to  the  plains.  From  here  we  made  several 
short  trips,  to  Pyramid  Lake  and  Pyramid 
Mountain,  the  former  a  characteristically  beauti- 
ful tarn,  and  the  latter  a  graceful  peak  with  a  va- 

[176] 


R.  C.  W.  LeU 


FIDDLE     CREEK     CANYON 


AFIELD  IN  JASPER 

riety  of  colouring  rarely  found  in  these  moun- 
tains, reds  and  browns,  blacks  and  greys,  softly 
blended  with  the  utmost  perfection.  On  the  way 
we  had  glimpses  of  a  couple  of  lovely  little  lakes 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Athabaska,  lying  close  to- 
gether, one  a  bright  blue  and  the  other  a  most  bril- 
liant emerald.  Behind  them  rose  Maligne 
Mountain,  with  the  valley  of  the  Athabaska  open- 
ing up  to  the  southwest,  a  group  of  great  peaks 
in  the  distance,  and  around  to  the  west  the  majes- 
tic, snow-crowned  peak,  Mount  Geikie. 

Another  day  was  spent  in  a  long  walk  to  the 
Maligne  Canyon.  We  started  under  heavy 
clouds,  which  presently  broke  in  rain,  that  slow, 
persistent  sort  of  rain  that  never  seems  to  tire. 
On  we  plodded  for  hours,  determined  to  stick  it 
out  because  we  had  been  warned  that  we  would 
certainly  be  driven  back.  And  in  the  end  we 
were  rewarded  with  the  Canyon,  seen  under  most 
uncomfortable  and  depressing  conditions,  but 
compelling  admiration  for  its  gloomy  splendour, 
its  ebony  walls  so  close  together  in  spots  that  one 
could  almost  jump  across,  not  merely  perpen- 
dicular but  sometimes  overhanging,  so  that  creep- 
ing to  the  edge  and  leaning  over  one  looked  down 
to  the  centre  of  the  stream  roaring  a  hundred 
feet  or  more  below. 

[177] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

One  other  afternoon  was  devoted  to  a  visit  to 
Swift,  the  first  and  only  settler  in  the  pass. 
Swift  came  here  many  years  ago,  after  an  ad- 
venturous career  in  mining  camps  from  Colorado 
to  northern  British  Columbia.  On  a  hunting  or 
trading  expedition  through  the  mountains  he  dis- 
covered a  beautiful  little  prairie,  a  few  miles  be- 
low where  Jasper  now  stands,  and  then  and  there 
determined  to  make  it  his  home.  He  came  back, 
built  a  rude  log  shack,  took  unto  himself  a  wife, 
and  despite  innumerable  discouragements  has 
managed  to  hve  happily  and  contentedly.  To- 
day he  owns  a  good  farm  in  the  heart  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  with  cattle  and  horses,  and  as  both 
the  great  transcontinental  railways  have  had  to 
build  through  his  property,  Swift  bids  fair  to  end 
his  days  in  wealth  and  prosperity.  If  wealth  can 
make  him  any  happier,  he  thoroughly  deserves  it 
for  his  pluck  and  perseverance  under  conditions 
that  would  have  driven  most  men  to  despair.  An 
afternoon  spent  at  Swift's  ranch,  roaming  with 
him  about  his  own  particular  little  canyon,  or  lis- 
tening to  his  yarns  of  mountain  and  plain,  mining 
camp,  trapping,  and  hunting,  told  with  all  the 
spirit  of  a  bom  story-teUer,  is  an  experience  well 
worth  remembering. 

[178] 


XII 
OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 


XII 
OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

CHATTING  one  evening  with  the  genial 
Superintendent  of  Jasper  Park,  into 
whose  sympathetic  ear  we  had  been 
pouring  our  ardent  desire  to  see  some  portion  of 
the  mountains  that  was  at  least  comparatively  un- 
known, he  rephed :  "I  know  the  very  place  you 
want — Mahgne  Lake,  off  to  the  south  of  here.  I 
can  get  you  a  good  guide  and  outfit  to-night,  and 
you  can  start  in  the  morning."  The  name  did 
not  sound  very  inviting;  rather  suggested  that 
some  one  had  seen  the  lake  and  condemned  it.  It 
appeared,  however,  that  the  name  was  really 
given  to  the  river  by  which  the  waters  of  the  lake 
are  carried  down  to  the  Athabaska,  and  that  the 
Indians  had  their  own  good  reasons  for  pronounc- 
ing it  "bad."  We  lived  to  commend  their  ver- 
dict. As  for  the  lake,  it  would  be  as  reasonable 
to  call  it  "Maligne"  as  to  give  such  a  name  to  a 
choice  comer  of  paradise.  That,  however,  is  get- 
ting a  little  ahead  of  the  story. 

The   following  morning  the  guide   and  his 

[181] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

helper  with  the  outfit  were  waiting  for  us  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Athabaska.  We  and  our  packs 
were  punted  across,  the  pack-horses  were  loaded, 
we  climbed  on  our  ponies  and  started  off  for  the 
undiscovered  country,  as  it  pleased  us  to  call  it, 
with  mountains  smiling  down  upon  us,  a  radiant 
sky  overhead,  and  unutterable  joy  in  our  hearts. 

The  trail — it  is  painful  to  admit  that  there  was 
a  trail,  and  an  excellent  one  at  that — led  up  the 
valley  of  the  Athabaska  to  Buffalo  Prairie,  where 
we  made  our  first  camp  after  an  easy  day's  jour- 
ney. Buffalo  Prairie  is  a  beautiful  meadow  set 
among  the  rolling  hills  that  break  the  level  of  the 
long  valley,  with  that  first  consideration  to  those 
who  travel  in  the  mountains,  an  abundance  of 
feed  for  the  horses,  and  with  wonderful  views  of 
the  great  guardian  peaks,  G^ikie,  Hardisty,  the 
Three  Sisters,  and  a  great  company  of  glittering 
giants  as  yet  unnamed.  To  one  who  comes  from 
the  east  where  every  little  hillock  has  its  name,  it 
is  startling  to  find  oneself  gazing  reverently  at  a 
majestic  pyramid  of  rock  and  ice  soaring  a  mile 
or  so  into  the  sky,  and  learn  from  the  indifferent 
guide  that  it  is  merely  one  of  the  thousand  name- 
less mountains. 

The  following  morning  we  were  off  early,  to 
the  infinite  disgust  of  the  horses  who  were  revel- 

[182] 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

ling  in  the  good  feed  of  the  prairie.  There  was  a 
long  day's  journey  ahead  up  to  and  over  Bighorn 
Pass,  and  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty  as  to  where 
we  might  find  any  sort  of  a  camping  groimd  on 
the  other  side  of  the  mountains.  For  a  time  we 
continued  our  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Atha- 
baska,  and  then  began  the  long  slow  climb  up  to 
the  pass,  over  8000  feet  above  the  sea.  As  we 
topped  one  hill  after  another,  sometimes  travel- 
ling through  patches  of  jack  pine,  sometimes  up 
the  dry  bed  of  a  mountain  stream,  there  opened 
up  new  and  ever  more  glorious  views  of  the  great 
ranges  on  either  side.  High  up  on  the  trail  we 
had  to  turn  aside  to  make  room  for  a  long  pack 
train  on  its  way  down  to  Jasper.  Hideous  con- 
fusion would  result  if  the  two  outfits  were  allowed 
to  get  entangled,  only  to  be  made  right  after 
much  expenditure  of  time  and  pungent  language. 
Finally  the  last  pack-horse  went  by  with  a  pictur- 
esque packer  jogging  along  in  the  rear,  and  we 
began  the  last  and  heaviest  grind  up  to  the  pass. 
The  trail  wound  into  the  pass,  and  up  and  ever 
up,  until  we  must  get  off  the  plucky  little  beasts 
and  lead  them  the  final  stage,  pufiing  and  pant- 
ing as  we  stimibled  along  through  the  heavy  loose 
shale  until  at  last  we  stood  on  the  summit,  and 
with  a  last  glance  back  at  the  peaks  off  toward 

[183] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Athabaska  Pass  turned  down  through  an  alpine 
meadow,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  swirling  snow- 
storm, toward  the  valley  of  the  Maligne. 

For  hours  we  toiled  around  the  shoulders  of 
hills  of  loose  shale,  or  through  miles  of  muskeg,  or 
ifallen  timber,  sometimes  mounted,  oftener  on 
foot  leading  our  hard- worked  ponies,  until  at  long 
last  with  the  sun  below  the  horizon  we  found  on 
a  steep  hillside  a  Httle  feed  for  the  horses,  and 
water  for  our  kettles.  The  tent  had  to  be  pitched 
on  the  trail,  the  only  relatively  clear  spot  that 
could  be  found,  and  we  trusted  to  Providence  not 
to  send  another  outfit  along  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  to  walk  over  us.  It  had  been  a  long  heavy 
day's  travel,  and  after  our  supper  of  bannocks 
and  bacon  and  a  pipe  we  turned  in  and  slept  as 
only  those  may  sleep  who  travel  on  the  wilderness 
trail. 

Our  tent  has  been  spoken  of,  but  it  was  more 
properly  a  tepee — ^not  the  tepee  that  you  see  in 
pictures  of  Indian  life,  made  of  skins  neatly  sewn 
together  and  perhaps  ornamented  with  rude 
drawings — but  a  modern  compromise,  of  the  old 
Indian  form  but  made  of  strong  cotton.  Some 
of  the  guides  in  the  mountains  much  prefer  the 
tepee  to  the  tent  in  any  of  its  familiar  forms. 
Others  will  have  none  of  it.     Our  own  experi- 

[184] 


«M 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

ence  led  us  to  the  conclusion  that  the  tepee  is  with- 
out a  rival  in  a  good  tepee  country,  that  is  one 
where  suitable  tepee  poles  are  abundant,  but  there 
are  occasions  when  you  have  to  camp  in  a  district 
where  poles  are  as  hard  to  find  as  needles  in  a  hay- 
stack, and  the  resources  of  the  language  seem 
ludicrously  inadequate  as  you  limp  about  the 
camp  in  an  ever-widening  circle  hunting  for 
something  that  will  support  the  thrice-damnable 
tepee  for  the  night. 

If  you  are  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  sufficient 
number  of  long,  straight,  slender  poles  among  the 
fallen  timber  (in  the  parks  you  are  not  permitted 
to  cut  down  trees  for  the  purpose),  it  is  a  matter 
of  but  a  very  few  minutes  to  stack  them  in  posi- 
tion, stretch  the  cotton  over  the  frame,  and  lace 
the  front  with  a  handful  of  small  twigs,  leaving 
an  opening  at  the  top.  Then  you  make  the  beds 
around  the  circle,  and  build  your  camp  fire  in  the 
middle.  On  a  cold  night,  and  particularly  on  a 
cold,  rainy  night,  one  blesses  the  Indian  who  first 
invented  the  tepee.  Instead  of  shivering  outside 
around  a  fire  that  will  not  burn,  you  have  your 
fire  with  you  in  a  large  roomy  tent,  and  can  cook 
your  meals  and  eat  them  in  comfort.  And  who 
that  has  experienced  it  can  forget  the  evening 
around  the  tepee  fire,  resting  tired  bodies  on 

[185] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

luxurious  beds,  smoking  the  pipe  of  peace,  and 
swapping  yams  until  it  is  time  to  roll  up  in  the 
thick,  warm  Hudson  Bay  blankets  and  sleep  until 
dawn,  or  until  the  smell  of  frying  bacon  awakens 
one  to  another  day's  adventures. 

This  morning  on  the  hill-side  overlooking  the 
Maligne  Valley  proved  to  be  a  Red  Letter  day  in 
our  calendar.  The  sun  had  been  rather  unkind 
since  we  left  Jasper,  but  now  as  we  scrambled  out 
of  the  tepee,  we  looked  up  into  a  cloudless  sky. 
Far  below  a  noisy  little  creek  hailed  us  cheerily  as 
it  hurried  down  from  the  mountains  to  join  the 
Maligne.  In  the  distance  we  had  glimpses  of 
the  river  itself,  and  beyond  uprose  an  extraor- 
dinary wall  of  rock  a  thousand  feet  or  more  in 
height,  shutting  in  the  valley  and  running  on  one 
side  toward  Maligne  Lake  and  on  the  other  far 
oif  into  the  hazy  distance  toward  the  Athabaska. 

Our  plans  were  to  climb  up  the  valley  to 
Maligne  Lake,  take  advantage  of  the  kindly  sun 
to  secure  a  few  pictures,  and  then  make  our  way 
back  to  last  night's  camp  and  down  the  valley  to 
Medicine  Lake.  East  of  Medicine  Lake  we  had 
heard  of  a  wonderful  little  body  of  water  called 
Jack  Lake,  famous  not  so  much  because  of  its 
beauty  as  for  the  extraordinary  abundance  of  its 
trout. 

[186] 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

A  ride  of  an  hour  or  so,  up  and  down  hill, 
through  fallen  timber,  muskeg  and  acres  of 
boulders,  with  finally  a  most  delightful  gallop 
through  a  piece  of  virgin  timber,  brought  us  un- 
expectedly out  on  to  a  point  of  land  overlooking 
Maligne  Lake.  We  had  read  Mrs.  Schaffer's 
enthusiastic  description  of  the  lake,  but  were 
hardly  prepared  for  the  perfectly  glorious  sight 
that  lay  before  us:  a  lake  of  the  most  exquisite 
blue,  mirroring  on  one  side  a  high  ridge  clothed 
to  the  water's  edge  in  dark  green  timber,  and  on 
the  other  a  noble  range  of  mountains  climbing  up 
and  up  in  graceful  towers  and  pinnacles  sharply 
outlined  against  a  cloudless  sky.  Beside  us  was 
an  ideal  camping  ground,  and  then  and  there  we 
vowed  to  come  back  to  this  spot  some  day,  with 
several  weeks  to  the  good,  and  really  make  the 
acquaintance  of  Maligne  Lake,  if  one  must  call 
anything  so  gracious  and  beautiful  by  such  an  in- 
appropriate name. 

Among  the  trees  by  the  lake  side  we  caught  a 
glimpse  of  a  tent,  but  the  owner  was  nowhere  in 
sight.  We  afterwards  learned  that  he  was  one  of 
the  forest  rangers,  who  rejoiced  in  the  pictur- 
esque name  of  Arizona  Pete.  How  Arizona 
Pete  had  wandered  so  far  from  the  land  of  alkali 
plains  and  canyons  no  one  seemed  to  know,  but 

[187] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

it  was  apparent  that  he  had  accumulated  in  his 
travels  a  fund  of  hair-raising  stories  of  which  Pete 
was  the  hero.  If  one  heard  of  a  riotously  im- 
possible exploit,  and  it  was  not  attributed  to  that 
mythical  hero  of  the  northwest,  Paul  Bunion, 
one  knew  at  once  that  it  must  be  one  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  Arizona  Pete. 

Turning  our  backs  most  reluctantly  on 
Mahgne  Lake,  we  rode  back  to  our  deserted 
camp,  and  north  toward  Medicine  Lake  follow- 
ing what  by  courtesy  was  called  a  trail  but  was 
actually  nothing  but  a  few  blazes  pointing  the 
way  through  a  perfect  wilderness  of  fallen  tim- 
ber. How  the  ponies,  with  all  their  marvellous 
intelligence  and  matchless  endurance  dragged 
themselves  and  us  through  the  miles  of  hopelessly 
tangled  logs  that  covered  ridge  and  valley  nearly 
every  foot  of  the  way  to  Medicine  Lake,  none  of 
us  could  ever  understand.  However,  we  did  at 
last  reach  the  mouth  of  the  river  where  it  emptied 
into  the  lake. 

Our  proposed  camping  ground  was  in  sight,  a 
little  cove  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  with 
feed  of  sorts  for  the  horses,  and  the  prospect  of 
poles  for  the  tepees ;  but  we  had  still  to  cross  the 
river   and   the   situation   looked   discouraging. 

[188] 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

There  was  said  to  be  a  ford  here,  but  the  water 
had  risen  within  the  last  few  days  and  the  sa- 
gacious ponies  sniflPed  at  it  disapprovingly.  We 
tried  one  place  after  another,  until  finally  as  a 
last  resource  the  guide  mounted  the  pluckiest  and 
most  sure-footed  of  the  bunch  and  coaxed  him 
out  into  the  raging  stream.  Step  by  step  they 
won  their  way  to  the  other  side,  and  the  rest, 
having  seen  that  the  thing  could  be  done,  followed 
willingly  enough.  We  all  got  over  with  nothing 
worse  than  a  wetting,  and  the  precious  provisions 
escaped  even  that.  Twenty  minutes  brought  us 
to  the  camping  ground,  and  our  troubles  were 
over  for  that  day. 

A  plunge  in  the  icy  waters  of  Medicine  Lake 
the  following  morning,  followed  by  a  hasty 
breakfast,  and  we  were  off  for  Jack  Lake  eight 
or  ten  miles  to  the  east.  The  guide  knew  that 
the  trail  led  off  from  a  creek  near  the  camp, 
but  we  must  hunt  for  the  exact  spot  where  it 
began.  It  sounds  simple  enough,  but  in  reahty 
it  was  not  at  all  simple.  The  trail  had  not  been 
much  used,  and  the  creek  from  which  it  started 
ran  through  a  dense  thicket  of  alder.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  circle  around  imtil  we  found 
it.     So  we  did,  sometimes  ploughing  through  the 

[189] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

bush,  sometimes  splashing  up  the  creek,  until  at 
last  a  cry  from  the  guide  told  us  that  the  elusive 
trail  was  found,  and  we  could  get  on  our  way. 

A  few  hundred  yards  brought  us  to  the  edge 
of  the  timber,  and  we  plunged  from  bright  sun- 
light into  the  shade  of  the  primaeval  forest,  where 
ancient  cedars  with  venerable  beards  rose  on  every 
side  from  a  carpet  of  deep,  emerald  moss.  On 
we  jogged  for  several  miles,  winding  through  the 
forest,  now  and  then  crossing  a  clear  woodland 
stream,  and  climbing  gradually  up  into  a  pass 
through  the  mountains.  Presently  we  emerged 
from  the  trees  with  bold  cliffs  rising  on  either  side 
carved  into  fantastic  shapes.  We  dropped  down 
into  a  secluded  valley,  with  an  emerald  lake  in 
the  centre  surrounded  by  velvet  meadows,  dark 
green  timber  beyond  stretching  up  to  the  foot 
of  white  cliffs  which  rose  abruptly  on  every  side. 
Except  for  an  eagle  soaring  far  above  there  was 
no  sign  of  life  in  the  valley,  and  the  silence  was 
so  absolute  that  one  unconsciously  lowered  one's 
voice  as  if  on  the  threshold  of  some  awe-inspir- 
ing temple. 

The  trail  led  down  the  valley,  skirting  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  wandered  through  a  bit  of 
wood  and  brought  us  out  on  the  shores  of  another 
lake,  finally  into  the  timber  again,  and  up  out  of 

[190] 


.1.    Kiierhkl 


BREAKING     CAMP    IN    THE    MOUNTAINS 


A.  Knechtel 


MAKING    A    TRAIL    THROUGH    FALLEN    TIMBER 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

the  valley  through  a  gap  in  the  mountains.  Then 
for  an  hour  or  two  we  were  lost  in  the  forest, 
following  the  trail  as  it  wound  ahout  and  ahout 
in  the  seemingly  casual  and  aimless  fashion  of 
wood  trails.  It  did  not  appear  at  the  moment 
very  important  that  it  should  lead  anywhere. 
The  air  was  fragrant  with  the  smell  of  pine  and 
cedar  and  of  a  temperature  that  left  absolutely 
nothing  to  be  desired;  the  great  trees  were  far 
enough  apart  to  afford  delightful  vistas  down 
long  avenues  whose  mossy  carpet  was  kissed 
by  sunbeams  filtering  through  the  evergreen 
branches  far  above ;  the  trail  was  clear  and  unen- 
cumbered, in  wonderful  contrast  to  our  experi- 
ence of  the  previous  day;  and  we  were  quite  con- 
tent to  jog  along  care-free  and  at  peace  with  the 
world. 

Finally  a  flash  of  blue  through  the  trees  warned 
us  that  we  were  drawing  near  Jack  Lake.  We 
followed  its  shore  for  a  mile  or  so,  or  rather 
climbed  along  the  face  of  the  steep  hill-side  that 
did  duty  for  shore  on  this  side,  and  rounding  the 
eastern  end  came  out  on  a  broad  meadow,  with 
a  new  log  shack  in  the  foreground,  a  fringe  of 
trees  in  the  middle  distance,  and  a  noble  range 
of  mountains  filling  in  the  background.  The 
owner  of  the  shack,  a  young  forest  ranger,  rushed 

[191] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

out  to  welcome  us  with  the  abnost  pathetic  ex- 
uberance of  one  who  had  not  had  anybody  but  his 
dog  to  talk  to  for  several  weeks. 

When  we  had  satisfied  for  the  time  his  hunger 
for  news  of  the  outside  world,  we  produced  our 
rods  and  requested  him  to  produce  his  trout.  He 
grinned  at  the  rods,  and  showed  us  his  own — a 
stout  stick  with  a  heavy  cord  tied  to  one  end, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  cord  a  bent  horseshoe 
nail.  "The  bull  trout  here,"  he  said,  "don't  like 
fancy  rods."  One  of  us  stuck  manfully  to  his 
treasured  equipment;  the  other  borrowed  the 
ranger's  stick  and  attached  to  it  his  heaviest  line. 
Our  hooks  we  learned  were  much  too  delicate  for 
the  purpose,  but  finally  we  managed  to  dig  up 
a  heavy  pike  hook  for  one  line  and  a  spoon  for 
the  other.  With  a  lump  of  fat  pork  for  bait,  we 
followed  the  ranger  down  the  banks  of  a  creek 
running  out  of  the  lake,  imtil  we  reached  a  deep, 
still  pool.  He  pointed  silently  to  the  pool,  and 
we  gasped.  The  pool  was  literally  alive  with  big 
trout  from  two  to  four  or  Gve  pounds.  The  lines 
barely  touched  the  water  before  there  was  a  fierce 
rush.  The  trout  were  fighting  for  the  bait.  A 
huge  fellow  on  each  line,  a  brief  struggle,  and 
both  were  safely  landed.  Within  ten  minutes 
we  had  more  than  the  party  could  eat  in  the  next 

[192] 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

two  or  three  days,  and  were  throwing  back  all 
but  the  largest  fish.  The  climax  came  when  we 
ran  out  of  pork,  and  one  of  us  half  jokingly  made 
a  cast  with  the  spoon  and  no  bait,  and  landed  a 
4-pounder  on  each  naked  hook.  After  that  we 
gave  it  up,  and  tried  the  lake,  hoping  for  trout 
that  would  give  us  something  a  Httle  more  like 
sport ;  but  there  for  some  reason  or  other,  proba- 
bly because  the  water  in  shore  was  shallow  and 
we  had  no  way  of  getting  out  into  the  lake,  we 
ran  to  the  other  extreme,  and  had  not  a  nibble 
in  an  hour's  fishing.  Although  the  story  of  our 
experience  on  the  creek  is  absolutely  authentic, 
we  feel  sadly  enough  that  it  is  useless  to  hope 
that  any  one  who  has  not  visited  Jack  Lake  will 
credit  the  story.  The  world  is  full  of  Doubting 
Thomases,  and  fish  stories  are  fish  stories.  Nev- 
ertheless, this  one  is  true. 

The  following  morning  we  retraced  our  steps 
to  Medicine  Lake,  and  after  several  hours'  most 
painful  scrambling  along  its  precipitous  banks — 
where  some  enemy  had  told  us  there  was  a  trail 
— we  reached  its  northern  end,  and  camped  for 
the  night.  Maligne  Lake  and  Medicine  Lake 
drain  into  the  Athabaska  by  Maligne  River,  but 
at  the  northern  end  of  the  second  lake,  where 
one  would  expect  to  find  a  considerable  stream 

[193] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

flowing  out,  the  shore  runs  around  smoothly  to 
the  western  side  without  a  break.  The  lake  emp- 
ties through  a  subterranean  channel,  and  reap- 
pears in  springs  some  miles  down  the  valley, 
where  the  Maligne,  hitherto  a  small  creek,  sud- 
denly develops  into  a  respectable  river. 

We  had  been  advised  to  return  to  the  Atha- 
baska  by  a  direct  trail  from  Jack  Lake,  but  our 
evil  genius  prompted  us  to  try  the  Maligne  River 
route  which  would  bring  us  out  near  Jasper. 
Never  did  the  shortest  way  round  prove  more 
conclusively  the  longest  way  home.  For  nine 
long  hours  we  toiled  down  that  interminable  val- 
ley without  rest  or  food,  crossing  the  river  back 
and  forth  innumerable  times,  scrambling  up 
banks  so  steep  that  we  had  to  go  on  hands  and 
knees  with  our  faithful  little  nags  struggling  up 
after  us,  and  then  finding  in  disgust  that  we 
had  to  slide  down  again  to  the  rocky  bed  of  the 
river,  worrying  through  miles  of  fallen  timber, 
miles  of  muskeg,  miles  of  wiry  bushes  that 
slapped  us  viciously  in  the  face  as  we  forced  a 
way  through,  and  ripped  our  clothing  until  we 
looked  more  like  stage  tramps  than  fairly  re- 
spectable travellers.  The  expected  trail  proved, 
to  be  nothing  but  a  few  experimental  blazes  on 
the  trees ;  experimental  surely,  as  we  found  more 

[194] 


OUT  OF  THE  WORLD 

than  once  to  our  cost,  following  the  blazes  to  a 
standstill  in  a  blind  lead,  and  turning  back  in 
our  tracks  for  perhaps  half  a  mile  to  where  the 
"trail"  branched  off  to  the  other  side  of  the  val- 
ley. That  day  we  became  temporary  converts  to 
the  theory  that  the  pathless  wilderness  was  no 
place  for  sane  mortals. 

However,  every  lane  must  have  its  turning, 
and  at  last  we  hailed  with  shouts  of  joy  the  fa- 
miliar gorge  of  the  Maligne,  which  we  had  visited 
from  Jasper  some  time  before.  From  the  gorge 
over  to  the  Athabaska  we  had  a  good  trail,  a 
boat  ferried  us  across  after  our  swimming  horses, 
and  we  were  back  again  at  the  Hotel  Fitzhugh, 
raiding  the  neighbouring  store  for  tobacco,  our 
last  pipeful  having  been  smoked  two  days  be- 
fore. Probably  this  had  more  than  a  little  to  do 
with  our  gloomy  impressions  of  the  Maligne 
River  trail. 


[195] 


XIII 
THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 


XIII 
THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

WAVING  a  glad  farewell  to  Jas- 
per, the  ugly  little  outpost  of 
civilisation,  we  threw  our  bags 
on  the  west-bound  train  the  following  morning 
and  were  off  for  Mount  Robson.  A  few  miles' 
easy  grade  and  we  were  at  the  summit  of  Yellow- 
head  Pass,  the  continental  divide.  Behind  us  was 
Alberta,  ahead  British  Columbia.  We  had  left 
Jasper  Park,  and  were  entering  Robson  Park. 

Sliding  down  the  long  slope  of  the  Eraser  val- 
ley, with  the  blue  waters  of  Yellowhead  Lake 
on  our  left  hand.  Mount  Fitzwilliam  above  us  to 
the  south,  and  the  loftier  peak  of  Geikie  gradu- 
ally opening  up  beyond,  we  began  to  reaUse  that 
there  was  much  yet  to  be  seen  both  at  our  feet 
and  up  in  the  clouds.  Another  ten  or  fifteen 
miles,  and  we  were  travelling  along  the  north 
shore  of  Moose  Lake,  with  the  Rainbow  Moun- 
tains on  one  side  and  the  Selwyn  Range  on  the 
other.  Moose  Lake  was  left  behind,  and  we 
crowded  out  on  to  the  rear  platform  of  the  train 

[199] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

to  get  our  first  glimpse  of  the  Monarch  of  the 
Rockies,  Mount  Robson.  Almost  without  warn- 
ing it  came.  We  rounded  the  western  end 
of  the  Rainbow  Mountains  and  looked  up  the 
valley  of  the  Grand  Fork.  "My  God!"  some 
one  whispered.  Rising  at  the  head  of  the  valley 
and  towering  far  above  all  the  surrounding  peaks 
we  saw  a  vast  cone,  so  perfectly  proportioned  that 
one's  first  impression  was  rather  one  of  wonder- 
ful symmetry  and  beauty  than  of  actual  height. 
Then  we  began  to  reahse  the  stupendous  ma- 
jesty of  the  moimtain,  and  recalled  the  words  of 
Milton  and  Cheadle  half  a  century  ago,  "a  giant 
among  giants,  immeasurably  supreme."  Now, 
as  then,  its  upper  portion  was  "dimmed  by  a  neck- 
lace of  light  feathery  clouds,  beyond  which  its 
pointed  apex  of  ice,  glittering  in  the  morning 
sun,  shot  up  far  into  the  blue  heaven." 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  David  Douglas 
was  not  the  only  scientist  who  made  a  wild  guess 
at  the  height  of  a  Rocky  Mountain  peak.  Doug- 
las absurdly  over-estimated  the  elevation  of 
Mount  Brown  and  Mount  Hooker.  Alfred  R. 
C.  Selwyn  quite  as  absurdly  under-estimated  the 
height  of  Mount  Robson,  and  he  was  at  the  time 
Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada. 
Selwyn  made  an  expedition  to  the  upper  waters 

[200] 


.s0 


■*    T?."" 


1  :fiiT 


AJMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

to  get  our  first  glimpse  of  the  Monarch  of  the 
Rockies,  Mount  Robson.  Almost  without  warn- 
ing it  came.  We  rounded  the  western  end 
of  the  Rainbow  Mountains  and  looked  up  the 
valley  of  the  Grand  Fork.  **My  God!"  some 
one  whispered.  Rising  at  tlie  head  of  the  valley 
and  towering  far  above  all  the  surrounding  peaks 
we  saw  a  vast  cone,  so  perfectly  proportioned  that 
one's  first  impression  was  rather  one  of  wonder- 
ful symmetry  and  beauty  than  of  actual  height. 
Then  we  began  to  realise  the  stupendous  ma- 
jesty of  the  mountain,  and  recalled  the  words  of 
Milton  and  Cheadlc  half  a  century  ago,  "a  giant 
anMg  Wmk^iM^^i^mW^^emiF^'^ow, 

YFrom  a  painting  by  George  name  nusseU) 

as  then,  its  u^ffst^Ji.4;is^T^i^MSkSy"Slm^  a  neck- 

lace of  light  feathery  clouds,  beyond  which  its 
pointed  apex  of  ice,  glittering  in  the  morning 
sun,  shot  up  far  into  the  blue  heaven/ 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  David  Douglas 
was  not  the  only  scientist  who  made  a  wild  guess 
at  the  height  of  a  Rocky  Mountain  peak.  Doug- 
las absiu'dly  over-estimated  tJse  elevation  of 
Mount  Brown  and  Mount  Ho<^er.  Alfred  R. 
C.  Selwyn  quite  as  absurdly  under-estimated  the 
h  ight  of  Mount  Robson,  and  he  was  at  the  time 
Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada. 
S^lwyri  made  an  expedition  to  the  upper  waters 

[200] 


THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

of  the  Eraser  in  1871,  and  in  his  official  report 
says  of  Robson:  "It  rises  with  mural  precipices 
to  a  height  of  two  or  three  thousand  feet  above 
the  river."  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  summit  of 
the  peak  is  about  ten  thousand  feet  above  the 
river,  and  something  over  thirteen  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea.  There  is  comfort  for  the  rest  of 
us  in  the  fact  that  such  an  eminent  scientist  as 
the  late  Dr.  Selwyn  could  make  such  an  ex- 
traordinary mistake. 

We  escaped  from  the  train  at  a  little  station 
named  after  the  great  mountain,  and  after  sev- 
eral miles'  tramp  reached  the  base  camp  of  the 
Alpine  Club  of  Canada,  which  was  tlien  holding 
its  annual  meeting  in  the  Robson  district.  There 
we  spent  the  night,  and  before  the  sun  went  down 
were  fortunate  enough  to  get  an  unobstructed 
view  of  the  peak,  the  last  wisp  of  cloud  driving 
off  to  the  east  leaving  the  mountain  outlined  from 
base  to  summit  and  glowing  with  unearthly  radi- 
ance in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun.  It  is  only 
at  long  intervals  that  such  a  view  is  to  be  ob- 
tained, the  peak  retiring  for  weeks  at  a  time  be- 
hind its  curtain  of  clouds,  or  perhaps  revealing 
its  vast  base  and  extreme  summit  while  the  upper 
slopes  are  hidden. 

When  we  set  out  in  the  morning  for  the  main 

[201] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

camp  of  the  Alpine  Club  by  the  shores  of  Berg 
Lake,  on  the  north  side  of  the  mountain,  Robson 
had  vanished  completely,  so  completely  that  a 
stranger  coming  here  for  the  first  time  would 
not  know  that  the  impenetrable  wall  of  cloud  at 
the  head  of  the  valley  hid  anjrthing  more  remarka- 
ble than  the  rugged  hills  on  either  side. 

Our  way  lay  for  a  time  over  the  level  ground 
covered  with  small  timber;  then  the  trail  began 
to  climb  up  the  valley,  and  the  next  eight  or  ten 
miles  developed  into  an  almost  continuous  as- 
cent, sometimes  on  easy  grades,  sometimes  wind- 
ing up  the  sides  of  a  hill  as  steep  as  a  high-pitched 
roof.  At  last  beautiful  Lake  Kinney  came  in 
sight,  with  Robson  rising  in  stupendous  slopes 
and  precipices  and  buttresses  from  its  shores. 
Our  way  lay  around  the  north  shore  of  the  lake, 
over  a  pebbly  flat,  around  the  shoulder  of  the 
mountain  and  into  the  Valley  of  a  Thousand 
Falls — an  enchanted  valley,  and  we  who  had  in- 
vaded it  were  nothing  but  dream-folk,  wandering 
spell-bound  among  scenes  more  gorgeous  than 
those  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor.  Here  was  colour  in 
riotous  profusion,  and  form,  of  flower  and  tree, 
of  sombre  cliif  and  glittering  snow-field  and 
remote  summit,  music  of  mountain  stream  and 
water-fall,  of  water-falls  innumerable,  and  with 

[202] 


THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

it  all  a  sublime  spirit  of  rest  and  peace.  What 
did  it  matter  in  this  Vale  of  Content  that  beyond 
the  outer  mountains  men  were  sweating  and 
struggling  for  Dead  Sea  fruit.  Here  at  least 
one  could  forget  for  the  moment  that  he  was  one 
of  the  same  folly-driven  race. 

Out  of  the  valley  at  last  we  climbed,  up  and 
up  past  the  Falls  of  the  Pool  and  the  Emperor 
Falls,  up  to  the  shores  of  Berg  Lake  whose  sap- 
phire waters  are  dotted  with  white  craft  launched 
from  the  eternal  snows  of  the  King  of  Moun- 
tains. Here  at  the  end  of  a  long  day's  jour- 
iiey,  a  journey  overflowing  with  experience,  we 
sat  down  to  rest  among  the  tents  of  the  Alpine 
Climbers.  Here,  also,  we  listened  to  the  story 
— surely  one  of  fine  pluck  and  endurance — of 
how  George  Kinney  and  Donald  (popularly 
known  as  "Curhe")  PhiUips  against  all  possible 
odds  fought  their  way  to  the  supreme  peak  of 
Robson.  Let  us  hear  it  in  their  own  words 
{Alpine  Club  Journal,  1910),  only  premising 
that  this  first  ascent  of  the  highest  peak  in  the 
Canadian  Rockies  was  made  in  August,  1909, 
after  two  imsuccessful  attempts  in  1907  and 
1908,  and  that  the  final  ascent  was  only  ac- 
complished after  twenty  days  of  continuous 
struggle,   during  which   they   were   repeatedly 

[203] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

driven  back  from  the  peak  by  impossible  condi- 
tions. 

"At  last/*  says  Mr.  Kinney,  "the  weather  be- 
gan to  clear  up,  and  Monday,  August  9th,  we 
again  climbed  the  rugged  north  shoulder. 
Crossing  the  difficult  shale  slope,  we  passed  the 
camp  spots  of  our  former  trips,  and  with  our 
heavy  fifty-pound  packs  struggled  up  those  fear- 
ful cliffs  till  we  reached  an  altitude  of  nearly  ten 
thousand  five  hundred  feet."  Here  they  ran  into 
a  blizzard,  and  after  a  short,  hopeless  struggle, 
had  to  clamber  down  again  to  their  base  camp. 
Their  provisions  were  almost  exhausted,  and 
they  were  many  long  miles  from  any  possible 
source  of  supply.  For  three  days  it  stormed, 
and  they  lived  on  birds  and  marmot.  Finally 
on  the  12th  it  cleared,  and  they  again  climbed  to 
the  top  of  the  west  shoulder.  "Here,  at  an  alti- 
tude equal  to  that  of  Mount  Stephen,  we  chopped 
away  a  couple  of  feet  of  snow  and  ice,  and  feath- 
ered our  nest  with  dry  slate  stones.  We  shivered 
over  the  little  fire  that  warmed  our  stew,  and 
then,  amid  earth's  grandest  scenes,  we  went  to 
bed  with  the  sun  and  shivered  through  a  wretched 
night. 

"Friday,  August  13th,  dawned  cold  and  clear, 
but  with  the  clouds  gathering  in  the  south.   Using 

[204] 


THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

our  blankets  for  a  wind-brake  we  made  a  fire 
with  a  handful  of  sticks,  and  nearly  froze  as  we 
ate  out  of  the  pot  of  boiling  stew  on  the  little 
fire.  Then  we  laid  rocks  on  our  blankets  so  they 
would  not  blow  away,  and  facing  the  icy  wind 
from  the  south,  started  up  the  west  side  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  peak.  The  snow  was  in  the 
finest  climbing  condition,  and  the  rock-work 
though  steep  offered  good  going.  Rapidly  work- 
ing our  way  to  the  south,  and  crossing  several 
ridges,  we  had  reached  in  an  hour  the  first  of 
two  long  cliffs  that  formed  horizontal  ramparts 
all  around  the  peak.  We  lost  half  an  hour  get- 
ting up  this  cliff. 

"The  clouds  that  came  up  with  a  strong  soutH 
wind  had  gradually  obscured  the  peak,  till  by 
the  time  we  reached  the  cHff  they  were  swirling 
by  us  on  our  level,  and  at  the  top  of  the  cliff  it 
began  to  snow.  For  a  moment  I  stood  silent, 
and  then  turning  to  my  companion  said :  *Cur- 
lie!  my  heart  is  broken.'  For  a  storm  on  the 
peak  meant  avalanches  on  that  fearful  slope,  and 
there  would  be  no  escaping  them,  so  I  thought 
that  we  would  have  to  turn  back,  and  our  pro- 
visions were  now  so  low  that  we  would  not  have 
enough  to  make  another  two-day  trip  up  the 
mountain.    It  meant   that   this   was   our   last 

[205] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

chance ;  but,  to  my  surprise,  it  did  not  snow  much, 
the  clouds  being  mostly  a  dense  mist.  In  a  few 
minutes  I  said,  'Let  us  make  a  rush  for  the  little 
peak,'  meaning  the  north  edge  of  the  peak  which 
was  directly  above  us.  *A11  right,'  said  Curlie, 
from  whom  I  never  heard  a  word  of  discourage- 
ment, and  away  we  started,  keeping  to  the  hard 
snow  slopes.  Though  these  were  extremely 
steep,  the  snow  was  in  such  splendid  condition 
that  we  could  just  stick  our  toes  in  and  climb 
right  up  hand  over  hand. 

"By  the  time  we  had  conquered  the  second  of 
the  long  ramparts  of  cliffs  that  form  black 
threads  across  the  white  of  the  peak,  we  con- 
cluded that  it  was  not  going  to  snow  very  hard, 
as  the  clouds  were  mostly  mist  and  sleet.  Swing- 
ing again  towards  the  south,  we  headed  directly 
for  the  highest  point  of  the  mountain,  which  we 
could  see  now  and  then  through  the  clouds. 
Small  transverse  cliffs  of  rock  were  constantly 
encountered,  but  they  were  so  broken  that  we 
could  easily  get  up  them  by  keeping  to  the  snow 
of  the  little  draws. 

"For  hours  we  steadily  climbed  those  dreadful 
slopes.  So  fearfully  steep  were  they  that  we 
climbed  for  hundreds  of  feet  where  standing 
erect  in  our  foot-holds  the  surface  of  the  slopes 

[206] 


THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

was  not  more  than  a  foot  and  a  half  from  our 
faces,  while  the  average  angle  must  have  been 
over  sixty  degrees.  There  were  no  places  where 
we  could  rest.  Every  few  minutes  we  would 
make  foot-holds  in  the  snow  large  enough  to  en- 
able us  to  stand  on  our  heels  as  well  as  our  toes, 
or  we  would  distribute  our  weight  on  toe  and 
hand-holds  and  rest  by  lying  up  against  the  wall 
of  snow.  On  all  the  upper  climb  we  did  nearly 
the  whole  work  on  our  toes  and  hands  only.  The 
clouds  were  a  blessing  in  a  way,  for  they  shut 
out  the  view  of  the  fearful  depths  below.  A 
single  slip  any  time  during  that  day  meant  a  slide 
to  death.  At  times  the  storm  was  so  thick  that 
we  could  see  but  a  few  yards,  and  the  sleet  would 
cut  our  faces  and  nearly  blind  us.  Our  clothes 
and  hair  were  one  frozen  mass  of  snow  and  ice, 

"When  within  five  hundred  feet  of  the  top,  we 
encountered  a  number  of  cliffs  covered  with  over- 
hanging masses  of  snow,  that  were  almost  im- 
possible to  negotiate,  and  the  snow  at  that  alti- 
tude was  so  dry  that  it  would  crumble  to  powder 
and  offer  poor  footing.  We  got  in  several  dif- 
ficult places  that  were  hard  to  overcome,  and 
fought  our  way  up  the  last  cliffs  only  to  find  an 
almost  insurmountable  difficulty.  The  prevail- 
ing winds  being  from  the  west  and  south,  the 

[207] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

snow  driven  by  the  fierce  gales  had  built  out 
against  the  wind  in  fantastic  masses  of  crystal, 
forming  huge  cornices  all  along  the  crest  of  the 
peak,  that  can  easily  be  distinguished  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Grand  Fork  some  ten  miles  away. 
We  finally  floundered  through  these  treacherous 
masses  and  stood,  at  last,  on  the  very  summit  of 
Mount  Robson. 

"I  was  astonished  to  find  myself  looking  into 
a  gulf  right  before  me.  Telling  Phillips  to  an- 
chor himself  well,  for  he  was  still  below  me,  I 
struck  the  edge  of  the  snow  with  the  staff  of  my 
ice  axe  and  it  cut  in  to  my  very  feet,  and  through 
that  little  gap  that  I  had  made  in  the  cornice,  I 
was  looking  down  a  sheer  wall  of  precipice  that 
reached  to  the  glacier  at  the  foot  of  Berg  Lake, 
thousands  of  feet  below.  I  was  on  a  needle  peak 
that  rose  so  abruptly  that  even  cornices  cannot 
build  out  very  far  on  it.  Baring  my  head,  I  said, 
*In  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  by  whose  strength 
I  have  climbed  here,  I  capture  this  peak.  Mount 
Robson,  for  my  own  country  and  for  the  Alpine 
Club  of  Canada.' " 

The  descent  was  not  accomplished  without 
difficulty  and  danger,  especially  as  a  warm  wind 
was  melting  the  lower  slopes  and  frequent  detours 
had  to  be  made  to  avoid  places  where  the  ice  or 

[208] 


R.  C.   W.  LeU 


EUPEROB    FALLS 


THE  MONARCH  OF  THE  ROCKIES 

rock  beneath  the  thin  snow  would  allow  of  no 
footholds  whatever.  It  took  five  hours  to  climb 
to  the  summit  from  the  camp  on  the  top  of  the 
west  shoulder,  and  seven  hours  to  return  to  the 
same  spot.  During  those  twelve  hours  it  was 
impossible  either  to  eat  or  rest.  It  was  long  after 
dark  before  they  reached  the  base  camp,  the  en- 
tire climb  occupying  twenty  hours.  "We  were 
so  tired  we  could  hardly  eat  or  rest  and  our  feet 
were  very  sore  from  making  toe-holds  in  the  hard 
snow.  But  we  had  stood  on  the  crown  of  Mount 
Robson,  and  the  struggle  had  been  a  desperate 
one.  Three  times  we  had  made  two-day  climbs, 
spending  ninety-six  hours  in  all  above  ten  thou- 
sand feet  altitude,  so  far  north.  During  the 
twenty  days  we  were  at  Camp  Robson  we  cap- 
tured five  virgin  peaks,  including  Mount  Robson, 
and  made  twenty-three  big  climbs." 


[209] 


XIV 
ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 


XIV 
ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

A  PLEASANT  evening  had  been  spent 
on  the  shores  of  Berg  Lake,  admir- 
ing the  wonderful  views  of  Robson 
and  its  encircHng  glaciers,  with  Mount  Re- 
splendant,  the  Dome  and  the  Helmet,  White- 
horn  Peak  off  to  the  right.  Rearguard  immedi- 
ately over  Berg  Lake,  Ptarmigan  Peak  to  our 
left,  and  Mount  Mumm,  named  after  the  well- 
known  EngHsh  Alpine  climber,  behind  us; 
surely  an  unrivalled  collection  of  gigantic  ice- 
crowned  peaks,  encircling  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful lakes  in  the  world.  A  few  days  before  two 
members  of  the  Alpine  Club  with  the  Swiss  guide 
Konrad  Kain  had  climbed  to  the  summit  of  Rob- 
son,  and  while  we  were  in  camp  another  party 
came  down,  unsuccessful,  after  three  days  spent 
on  the  peak.  They  had  been  driven  back  when 
within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  the  summit  by  a 
dangerous  snow  storm.  After  the  sun  went 
down  we  walked  over  to  the  big  campfire  of  the 
Alpine  Club,  and  listened  to  the  climbing  expe- 

[213] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

riences  of  the  mountaineers,  regretting  that  our 
plans  would  not  permit  us  to  join  one  of  the  par- 
ties in  an  attack  on  one  of  the  less  formidable 
peaks. 

Through  the  good  oflSces  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Jasper  Park,  we  had  been  fortunate  enough 
to  secure  the  services  of  Fred  Stephens  to  take 
us  through  the  Moose  River  country.  So  much 
has  been  said  about  guides,  that  it  may  not  be 
amiss  to  explain,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are 
not  familiar  with  the  Canadian  Rockies,  that 
there  are  two  quite  distinct  classes  of  mountain 
guides,  one  possessing  special  knowledge  of  the 
high  peaks  and  how  to  get  up  them,  the  other 
knowing  like  a  book  the  intricate  wilderness  that 
lies  about  their  feet.  The  climbing  guides  are 
Swiss,  trained  in  the  Alps.  Two  or  three  of 
them  were  engaged  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way some  years  ago,  when  mountain  climbers 
first  began  to  realise  the  splendid  possibilities 
of  the  country  about  Laggan,  Field  and  Glacier. 
The  guides  spent  the  summer  in  the  Rockies,  and 
returned  to  Switzerland  for  the  winter.  Since 
then  the  number  has  steadily  increased,  and  now 
many  of  the  Swiss  guides  have  settled  perma- 
nently in  the  Canadian  Alps,  which  are  now  rap- 

[214] 


R.  C.  W    Lett 


MOUNT    BOBSON     FBOM     THE     NOBTHEAST 


ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

idly  becoming  popular  as  a  winter  as  well  as  a 
sununer  resort. 

The  trail  guides  are  an  entirely  different  class 
of  men.  They  belong  to  the  west,  have  been 
trained  there,  and  know  its  ways.  Some  of  them 
have  been  trappers  or  traders,  many  are  hunters, 
and  not  a  few  have  been  cowboys,  or  miners. 
All  know  the  mountains  and  the  mountain  trails, 
and  most  of  them  are  good  companions  either 
in  camp  or  on  the  trail,  quietly  competent  when 
work  is  to  be  done,  resourceful  in  the  innumerable 
emergencies  of  mountain  travel,  and  a  fountain 
of  shrewd  wisdom  and  anecdote  around  the  camp 
fire.  And  of  all  trail  guides  in  the  Canadian 
Rockies  none  is  the  superior  of  Fred  Stephens, 
whether  as  guide,  philosopher  or  comrade.  We 
who  had  heard  his  praises  sung  by  others,  con- 
gratulated ourselves  when  we  learned  that  he 
was  to  take  us  through  the  Moose  River  country. 

Early  next  morning  we  were  up  and  doing. 
Breakfast  was  despatched,  the  tents  struck,  the 
horses  driven  in  to  camp,  packs  made  up  and 
securely  fastened  to  the  backs  of  the  pack-horses 
by  means  of  the  famous  diamond  hitch,  our  own 
ponies  saddled,  and  we  were  off  for  Moose  Pass, 
waving  a  reluctant  farewell  to  our  hosts  of  the 

[215] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

Alpine  Club  as  we  trotted  through  the  camp — a 
tent  city  gay  with  bunting,  and  instinct  with  the 
wholesome  enthusiasm,  good-fellowship,  and  hos- 
pitality of  the  mountaineers. 

As  we  crossed  the  slight  ridge  at  the  foot  of 
Robson  Glacier,  which  at  this  point  forms  the 
continental  divide,  we  paused  to  study  for  a  mo- 
ment the  curious  family  history  of  two  great 
water  systems,  bom  in  the  same  glacier.  From 
two  blue  ice  caves  in  the  Robson  Glacier,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  ridge  of  the  terminal  moraine, 
flow  two  sparkling  streams.  One  flows  south- 
west into  Berg  Lake,  the  Grand  Fork,  the  Fra- 
ser,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean;  the  other  flows  north- 
east into  Lake  Adolphus,  the  Smoky,  Peace 
River,  Slave  River,  Great  Slave  Lake,  the  Mac- 
kenzie, and  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Turning  our 
backs  on  the  Berg  Lake  tributary,  after  wishing 
it  a  pleasant  journey  to  the  Pacific,  we  followed 
its  brother  down  to  Lake  Adolphus  and  for  some 
miles  beyond,  when  we  turned  east  up  Calumet 
Creek  toward  Moose  Pass. 

Near  the  summit  of  the  pass  we  found  our- 
selves in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  exquisite 
of  Alpine  meadows.  Imagine  a  great  bowl  of 
dark  rock  relieved  here  and  there  with  patches 
of  fresh  snow,  and  at  the  foot  of  this  bowl  a  soft 

[216] 


ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

emerald  carpet,  the  green  almost  hidden  by  glow- 
ing patches  of  flowers,  asters  and  arbutus  and 
harebell,  purple  and  white  heather,  lady's  tresses 
and  columbine,  moss  campion,  the  twin  flower 
and  the  forget-me-not.  Think  of  it,  you  who 
treasure  a  httle  patch  of  forget-me-nots  in  your 
garden,  think  of  walking  your  horse  reverently 
through  an  acre  of  forget-me-nots,  growing  so 
thickly  that  the  blue  of  them  could  be  seen  long 
before  one  reached  the  place  where  they  grew, 
so  thickly  that  one  was  compelled  to  the  sacrilege 
of  treading  down  thousands  of  blossoms  as  we 
crossed  the  meadow.  In  honour  of  the  lady  of 
our  party,  whom  we  believed  to  be  the  flrst  white 
woman  to  pass  this  way,  we  named  this  beautiful 
spot  Merwin  Meadow. 

Before  we  leave  the  meadow,  listen  for  a  mo- 
ment to  a  writer  who  combines  the  imagination 
of  a  poet  with  the  exact  knowledge  of  a  scientist. 
Dr.  A.  P.  Coleman: 

"If  one  halts  by  chance  anjrwhere  on  a  moun- 
tain pass,  all  sorts  of  thrilling  things  are  going 
on  around.  Lovely  flowers  are  opening  eagerly 
to  the  sun  and  wind  of  Spring — in  mid- August, 
with  September's  snows  just  at  hand,  a  whole 
year's  work  of  blossom  and  seed  to  be  accom- 
plished before  the  ten  months'  winter  sleep  be- 

[217] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

gins.  Bees  are  tumbling  over  them  intoxicated 
with  honey  and  the  joy  of  life  while  it  is  sum- 
mer. Even  the  humming-birds,  with  jewels  on 
their  breast  as  if  straight  from  the  tropics,  are  not 
afraid  to  skim  up  the  mountain  sides,  poise  over 
a  bunch  of  white  heather,  and  pass  with  a  flash 
from  flower  to  flower.  The  marmots  with  alder- 
manic  vests  are  whistling  and  'making  hay  while 
the  sun  shines,'  and  one  may  see  their  bundles  of 
choice  herbs  spread  on  a  flat  stone  to  dry,  while 
the  little  striped  gophers  are  busy  too.  Time 
enough  to  rest  in  the  winter. 

"Everything  full  of  bustle  and  haste  and  of 
joy,  what  could  be  more  inspiring  than  the  flow- 
ery meadows  above  tree-line  when  the  warm  sun 
shines  in  the  six  weeks  of  summer!  The  full 
splendour  and  ecstasy  of  a  whole  year's  life  piled 
into  six  weeks  after  snow  has  thawed  and  before 
it  falls  again! 

"Higher  up  even  the  snow  itself  is  alive  with 
the  red  snow  plant  and  the  black  glacier  flea, 
like  the  rest  of  the  world  making  the  most  of 
summer;  and  as  you  take  your  way  across  the 
snow  to  the  mountain  top,  what  a  wonderful 
world  opens  out!  How  strangely  the  world  has 
been  built,  bed  after  bed  of  limestone  or  slate  or 
quartzite,  pale  grey  or  pale  green  or  dark  red 

[218] 


R.  C.   W.  Lett 


MOOSE     RIVER     FALLS 


ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

or  purple,  built  into  cathedrals  or  castles,  or 
crumpled  like  coloured  cloths  from  the  rag-bag, 
squeezed  together  into  arches  and  troughs,  into 
V's  and  S's  and  M*s  ten  miles  long  and  two  miles 
high;  or  else  sheets  of  rock  twenty  thousand  feet 
thick  have  been  sliced  into  blocks  and  tilted  up 
to  play  leapfrog  with  one  another. 

"And  then  the  sculpturing  that  is  going  onl 
One  is  right  in  the  midst  of  the  workshop  bustle 
where  mountains  are  being  carved  into  pinnacles, 
magnificent  cathedral  doors  that  never  open,  tow- 
ers that  never  had  a  keeper — all  being  shaped 
before  one's  eyes  of  the  mighty  beds  and  blocks 
of  limestone  and  quartzite  that  were  once  the  sea 
bottom.  You  can  watch  the  tools  at  work,  the 
chisel  and  gouge,  the  file  and  the  sandpaper. 
All  the  workmen  are  hard  at  it  this  spring  morn- 
ing in  August;  the  quarryman  Frost  has  been 
busy  over  night,  as  you  hear  from  the  thunder 
of  big  blocks  quarried  from  the  cliffs  across  the 
valley;  there  is  a  dazzling  gleam  on  the  moist, 
polished  rocks  which  Craftsman  Glacier  has  just 
handed  over  to  the  daylight;  and  you  can  watch 
how  recklessly  the  waterfall  is  cutting  its  way 
down,  slicing  the  great  banks  of  rock  with  can- 
yons !  It  is  inspiring  to  visit  the  mountains  any 
day  in  the  year,  but  especially  so  in  the  July  or 

[219] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

August  springtime,  when  a  fresh  start  is  made, 
and  plants,  animals,  patient  glaciers,  husthng 
torrents,  roaring  rivers,  shining  lakes  are  all  hard 
at  work  rough-hewing  or  putting  finishing 
touches  on  an  ever  new  world." 

We  tried  to  keep  our  minds  on  such  thoughts 
as  these,  as  we  left  the  meadow  behind  and  crossed 
a  ridge  of  most  abominably  sharp  scree,  hard  on 
our  feet  and  footwear  as  we  trudged  sulkily 
through  it,  and  still  harder  on  the  unshod  horses 
who  followed  patiently  after.  The  ridge  led  to 
a  long  slope  down  the  British  Columbia  side  of 
the  pass — for  between  the  foot  of  Robson  Glacier 
and  Moose  Pass  we  had  crossed  a  wedge  of  Al- 
berta— and  then  mile  upon  mile  of  muskeg, 
where  as  we  floundered  slowly  ahead  we  alter- 
nately admired  Fred  Stephens'  unerring  skill  in 
following  a  trail  that  only  became  faintly  visible 
for  a  foot  or  two  every  three  or  four  hundred 
yards,  and  damned  him  heartily  for  leading  us 
into  such  a  slough  of  despond.  However,  even 
the  worst  muskeg  must  have  an  end,  and  at  last 
we  and  our  weary  horses  pulled  out  on  the  other 
side,  trotted  happily  through  a  bit  of  virgin  for- 
est, and  cheered  the  guide  when  he  pointed  ahead 
to  our  camping  ground,  an  ideal  spot  in  a  clear- 
ing beside  the  East  Branch  of  the  Moose  River. 

[220] 


ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

We  had  made  twenty  miles  from  Berg  Lake, 
pretty  good  going  in  such  a  country,  a  third 
of  the  journey  being  through  heavy  muskeg; 
and  our  second  meal  that  day  was  at  seven 
in  the  evening.  Fred  Stephens  is  without 
a  peer  as  a  guide,  but  he  would  never  qual- 
ify as  instructor  in  a  cooking  school.  Never- 
theless his  bannocks  that  night  seemed  to  us  the 
very  food  of  the  gods.  It  may  have  been  be- 
cause he  made  them  in  a  gold  pan,  or  it  may 
have  been  the  dry  humour  of  his  stories,  or  per- 
haps it  was  the  fact  that  breakfast  seemed  so 
remote  that  we  had  forgotten  the  existence  of 
such  a  meal,  but  the  fact  remains  that  that  lunch- 
eon-supper of  bannocks  and  bacon  left  us  at  peace 
with  the  world. 

Behind  the  camp  rose  an  attractive  little  moun- 
tain offering  some  rather  interesting  rock  climb- 
ing, and  one  of  us  made  up  his  mind  to  have  a 
try  at  it  the  following  morning  before  breakfast. 
He  managed  to  get  into  his  clothes  without  dis- 
turbing the  rest  of  the  party,  and  pocketing  a 
cold  bannock  started  off  for  the  mountain.  The 
first  obstacle  appeared  in  the  shape  of  a  lively 
branch  of  the  Moose,  which  had  not  been  noticed 
the  night  before.  A  rapid  survey  up  and  down 
stream  revealed  no  means  of  getting  across  dry, 

[221] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  plunge  in 
and  wade  across.  It  was  waist  deep  in  mid- 
stream, and  the  water  was  not  only  wet  but  most 
exceedingly  cold.  However,  there  was  exercise 
enough  ahead  to  overcome  the  chill  of  the  recep- 
tion. 

A  long  scramble  up  a  slope  covered  with  closely 
matted  bushes  led  at  last  to  the  rocks,  and  the 
rocks  to  a  series  of  ledges.  Being  a  novice,  the 
climber  lost  much  time  in  searching  for  practica- 
ble routes  to  the  summit,  and  in  an  attempt  to 
get  up  a  chimney  sent  down  such  an  avalanche 
of  rock  that  the  camp  was  aroused  and  began 
to  contemplate  a  searching  expedition  for  the  re- 
mains of  a  fool  climber.  However,  fate  had 
some  other  end  in  view,  and  the  climber  went  on 
his  way.  A  steep  slope  of  very  fine,  loose  shale 
ending  in  a  sheer  drop  of  some  hundred  feet 
finally  brought  him  to  a  standstill.  He  had  little 
more  than  an  hour  to  get  back  to  camp,  and  it 
would  take  all  of  that  to  find  another  way  up  to 
the  summit.  That  little  mountain  remained  un- 
conquered.  He  scrambled  down  to  a  draw  be- 
tween the  hills,  crossed  a  snow  patch,  swung  down 
a  long  slope,  plunged  through  the  iminviting 
creek,  and  was  back  in  time  to  find  the  party 
packed  and  ready  to  march. 

[222] 


ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

Our  way  lay  down  the  East  Branch,  partly 
over  a  fairly  good  trail,  partly  through  a  repeti- 
tion of  yesterday's  muskeg.  One  of  the  pack- 
horses  took  it  into  his  head  to  do  pioneer  work 
in  opening  up  new  trails  through  the  hush,  and 
was  sent  in  disgrace  to  the  rear  of  the  string 
where  the  guide's  helper  could  keep  a  watchful 
eye  on  him.  The  helper  was  a  plucky  but  inex- 
perienced little  chap,  and  his  limited  vocabulary 
filled  the  pack-horses  with  contempt.  Through- 
out that  day  we  who  were  ahead  with  the  guide 
could  hear  every  little  while  far  in  the  rear  the 
faint  cry,  "Buckskin!  Oh,  Bu-u-ck-skin!"  Fi- 
nally the  cry  changed  to,  "O  Fred!  Pack's  off!" 
and  the  philosophic  guide  cantered  back  to  bring 
pack  and  pack-horse  together  again.  Nothing 
could  possibly  look  more  meek  and  inoffensive 
than  the  mild-eyed  Buckskin  when  he  marched 
into  camp  that  night,  but  he  had  given  more 
trouble  than  the  rest  of  the  thirteen  horses  com- 
bined. He  probably  said  to  himself  that  he  was 
a  horse  ahead  of  his  generation,  and  that  pioneers 
were  generally  misunderstood. 

We  camped  on  the  West  Branch  of  the  Moose, 
about  a  mile  above  its  junction  with  the  East 
Branch,  having  again  made  twenty  miles  from 
our  last  camp.    Once  more  we  camped  by  the 

[223] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

river's  side,  with  a  fine  range  of  mountains  oppo- 
site, and  a  splendid  view  of  the  Reef  Glaciers  at 
the  head  of  the  valley.  Resplendent  and  Rob- 
son  were  off  to  the  west,  but  hidden  behind  in- 
tervening ridges.  We  had  been  hoping  all  day 
to  see  mountain  goat,  but  found  nothing  but  a 
wisp  of  wool  on  a  bush  above  a  salt  lick. 

The  following  morning  we  started  down  the 
Moose,  with  a  succession  of  beautiful  views  up 
and  down  the  valley.  A  deep  creek  which  had 
been  roughly  bridged  with  logs  gave  us  some 
trouble.  One  of  the  pack-horses — ^not  the  un- 
fortunate Buckskin — ^went  through,  and  it 
needed  the  united  exertions  of  four  men  to  get 
liim  out.  The  other  horses,  who  had  seen  the 
accident  and  were  still  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
stream,  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
bridge,  and  even  after  we  had  repaired  it  they 
were  only  with  the  utmost  difficulty  coaxed  across 
one  at  a  time. 

Finally  we  topped  the  last  ridge,  and  looked 
down  into  the  valley  of  the  Eraser.  The  rail- 
way track,  looking  hke  a  thread  in  the  distance, 
seemed  utterly  unf amihar  after  our  few  days  on 
the  trail.  We  had  made  a  wide  circle  around 
Robson,  starting  from  Robson  station,  and  com- 

[224] 


R.  C.    W.  Lett 


SWIMMING     THE    ATHABASKA 


R.  C.   W.  Lett 


MAKING     CAMP 


ON  THE  MOOSE  RIVER  TRAIL 

ing  back  to  the  railway  at  what  was  known  to  the 
construction  gangs  as  "Mile  17."  We  had  sup- 
per in  Reading's  Camp,  near  the  mouth  of  Grant 
Brook,  and  took  the  eastbound  train  back  to  Jas- 
per. 

A  day  or  two  later  we  turned  our  faces  toward 
the  east,  leaving  behind  more  than  one  friend 
that  we  had  learned  to  know  and  appreciate  in 
the  simple,  human  life  of  trail  and  camp-fire ;  and 
carrying  with  us  eternal  memories  of  this  region 
of  glorious  mountains  and  pine-scented  valleys, 
lakes  of  turquoise  and  emerald,  rushing  crystal 
streams,  waterfalls  innumerable,  glaciers  and 
snow-fields,  rugged  cliffs  and  green-clad  slopes, 
rock-strewn  ridges  and  flower-bedecked  mead- 
ows, and  of  the  marvellously  clear  and  intoxi- 
cating air  of  the  mountains  hfting  the  soul  out 
of  the  mire  and  attuning  it  to  a  purer  and 
more  noble  outlook.  We  had  had  glimpses  of 
these  wonderlands  of  the  Canadian  West,  and 
we  were  resolved  that  another  day  should  see  our 
footsteps  once  more  turned  toward  the  beckon- 
ing hills. 

To-day,  witH  the  *'storm-winds  of  autumn" 
rushing  by  from  the  east,  we  feel  like  saying, 
with  Matthew  Arnold: 

[225] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 

"Ye  are  bound  for  the  moiintains — 
Ah,  with  you  let  me  go 
Where  your  cold  distant  barrier, 
The  vast  range  of  snow. 
Through  the  loose  clouds  lift  dimly 
Its  white  peaks  in  air — 
How  deep  is  their  stillness! 
Ah,  would  I  were  there!" 


[226] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Butler,  William  Francis.  The  Wild  North- 
land.   1873. 

Brown,  Stewabjdson,  and  Schatter,  Mrs. 
Charles.  Alpine  Flora  of  the  Canadian 
Rocky  Mountains.     1907. 

Coleman,  A.  P.  The  Canadian  Rockies. 
1912. 

CouEs,  Elliott.  New  Light  on  the  Early  His- 
tory of  the  Greater  Northwest.  The  Manu- 
script Journals  of  Alexander  Henry  and 
David  Thompson,  1799-1814.     1897. 

Cox,  Ross.  Adventures  on  the  Columbia  River. 
1831. 

Dawson,  George  M.  The  Canadian  Rocky 
Mountains.     1886. 

Dawson,  George  M.  Exploration  from  Fort 
Simpson  to  Edmonton.  In  Geological  Sur- 
vey of  Canada  Report,  1879-80. 

De  Smet,  Pierre  Jean.  Oregon  Missions  and 
Travels  over  the  Rock  Mountains  in  1845-46. 
Reprinted  as  Vol.  XXIX  of  Early  Western 
Travels.     1906. 

[229] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Douglas,  David.  Journey  to  Hudson's  Bay. 
Companion  to  Botanical  Magazine,  II,  pp. 
185-88. 

Eematingee,  Edward.  York  Factory  Ex- 
press. In  Transactions  Royal  Society  of 
Canada,  1912. 

Fay,  Chaeles  E.  Rocky  Mountains  of  Can- 
ada.   Alpina  Americana,  No.  2  (1911). 

Fleming,  Sandford.  England  and  Canada. 
A  Sunmier  Tour  between  Old  and  New  West- 
minster.   1884. 

FooTNEE,  HuLBEET.  Ncw  Rivcrs  of  the  North. 
1912. 

Feancheee,  Gabeiel.  Narrative  of  a  Voyage 
to  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America  in  the  years 
1811-1814.     1854. 

Feasee,  Simon.  Journal  of  a  Voyage  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  1808. 
In  Masson,  Bourgeois  de  la  Compagnie  du 
Nord-ouest.     1889. 

GoEDON,  Daniel  M.  Mountain  and  Prairie. 
1830. 

GeanTj  Geoege  M.  Ocean  to  Ocean.  Sand- 
ford  Fleming's  Expedition  through  Canada 
in  1872.     1873. 

Gbeen,  W.  S.    Among  the  Selkirk  Glaciers. 
1890. 
[230] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Geohman-Baillie,  W.  A.  Camps  in  the  Rock- 
ies.    1883. 

Geohman-Baillie,  W.  A.  Fifteen  Years' 
Sport  and  Life  in  Western  America.     1900. 

Geohman-Baillie,  W.  A.  Seven  Years'  Path- 
finding  in  the  Selkirks  of  Kootenay.  In 
Field,  May  11,  1899. 

Haemon,  Daniel  Williams.  A  Journal  of 
Voyages  and  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  North 
America.     1820. 

Henshavt,  Julia  W.  Momitain  Wild  Flow- 
ers of  America.     1906. 

Hoeetzky,  Chaeles.  Canada  on  the  Pacific. 
1874. 

HoENADAY,  W.  T.,  and  Phillips,  John  M. 
Camp-fires  in  the  Canadian  Rockies.     1906. 

HuBBAED,  J.  H.  Sport  in  the  Canadian  North- 
west.    1886. 

Kane,  Paul.  Wanderings  of  an  Artist  among 
the  Indians  of  North  America.     1859. 

McAethue,  J.  J.  Topographic  Survey  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  In  Reports  Interior  De- 
partment of  Canada,  1887  and  1892. 

McConnell,  R.  G.  Geological  Structiu-e  of 
a  Portion  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  Geo- 
logical Survey  of  Canada  Report,  1886. 

McEvoY,  James.    The  Yellowhead  Pass  Route 

[231] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

from  Edmonton  to  Tete  Jaune  Cache.     In 
Geological  Survey  of  Canada  Report,  1898. 

Mackenzie,  Alexander.  Voyages  from  Mon- 
treal through  the  Continent  of  North  America 
to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific  Oceans,  in  1789  and 
1793.     1801. 

McLeod,  Malcolm.  Peace  River.  A  Canoe 
Voyage  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Pacific,  hy  the 
late  Sir  George  Simpson,  in  1828.     1872. 

Mennell,  H.  T.  Across  Canada  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.     1885. 

Milton,  Viscount,  and  Cheadle,  W.  B.  The 
North- West  Passage  by  Land.     1865. 

MoBERLY,  Walter.  The  Rocks  and  Rivers  of 
British  Columbia.     1885. 

OuTRAM^  James.  In  the  Heart  of  the  Canadian 
Rockies.     1905. 

Palliser,  John.  Journals  .  .  .  relative  to 
Exploration  .  .  .  between  Lake  Superior  and 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  1857-60.     1863. 

Palmer,  Howard.  Notes  on  the  Exploration 
and  the  Geography  of  the  Northern  Selkirks. 
In  Bulletin  of  the  American  Geographical 
Society,  1912. 

Palmer,  Howard.     Mountaineering  and  Ex- 
ploration in  the  Selkirks.     1914. 
[232] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

ScHATFEE,  Maey  T.  S.  Old  Indian  Trails. 
1911. 

Selwyn,  Alfred  R.  C.  Explorations  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia.  In  Geographical  Survey  of 
Canada  Report,  1875-76, 

Selwyn,  Axfred  R.  C.  Preliminary  Explora- 
tion in  British  Columbia.  In  Geographical 
Survey  of  Canada  Report,  1871-72. 

Sheezer,  W.  H.  Glaciers  of  the  Canadian 
Rockies  or  Selkirks.  In  Smithsonian  Contri- 
butions to  Knowledge,  1907. 

Simpson,  Sir  George.  Narrative  of  a  Journey 
Round  the  World  During  the  Years  1841  and 
1842.     1847. 

SouTHESK,  Earl  of.  Saskatchewan  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains.     1875. 

Stutfield,  H.  E.  M.  and  Collie,  J.  N.  Climbs 
and  Explorations  in  the  Canadian  Rockies. 
1903. 

Walcott,  Charles  D.  The  Monarch  of  the 
Canadian  Rockies.  In  National  Geographic 
Magazine,  May,  1913. 

Washburn,  Stanley.  Trails,  Trappers  and 
Tender-feet  in  Western  Canada.     1912. 

Wheeler,  A.  O.  and  Parker,  Elizabeth. 
The     Selkirk     Mountains,     a     Guide     for 

[233] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Mountain  Pilgrims  and  Climbers.  1911. 
Wheeler,  A.  O.     The  Mountains  of  the  Yel- 

lowhead  Pass.     In  Alpine  Journal^  1913. 
Wheeler,  A.  O.     The  Selkirk  Range.    1905. 
Wilcox,   W.  D.     Camping  in  the   Canadian 

Rockies.     1896. 
Wilcox,  W.  D.    A  Guide  Book  to  the  Lake 

Louise  Region.     1909. 
Wilcox,  W.  D.    Picturesque  Landscapes  in  the 

Canadian  Rockies.     1898. 
Wilcox,    W.    D.    The   Rockies   of    Canada. 

1909. 

Reference  may  also  be  made  to  the  Canadian  Alpine 
Journal  and  Appalachia  containing  many  important  articles 
on  mountain-climbing  in  the  Rockies  and  Selkirks,  the 
geology,  fauna  and  flora  of  the  region,  etc.;  also  to  the 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Dominion  Parks. 


[234] 


MAPS 


[235] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 


•—~  MAP  or      - 
FOCKY    MOUNTAINS    PARK 


[236] 


MAPS 


^— YOHO    PARK- 


[237] 


AMONG  THE  CANADIAN  ALPS 


JASPER      PARK        /     l^r] 

/        ^    ' 

/I 

/  ' 
/  > 
i     : 


[238] 


MAPS 


[239] 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

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